ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY 

OF  THK 


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FOR  THK 


EASTERN  DISTRICT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 


“  The  prison,  as  we  how  know  it,  is  as  entirely  an  institution  of  modern  Europe  as  the  church, 
the  school  and  the  poor-house.  Words  occur,  connected  with  events  and  customs  in  the  ancient 
world,  which  we  can  only  translate  into  modern  language  or  thought  by  the  use  of  the  word  "  prison 
but  the  thing,  as  we  now  know  it,  in  the  shape  of  the  county  jail  or  the  convict-prison,  was  then 
neither  known  nor  anticipated. ” — Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol ,  xviii . ,  page  564, 


BY 


RICHARD  VAUX, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  INSPECTORS. 

fit,  i«m 


j  "ffr  4UN9  MM 

PH  I  LAD  ^  tUJNQlf 


McLaughlin  brothers,  printers,  nos.  112  and  111  south  third  street. 


BRIEF  SKETCH 

mm 

OF  UK 

uwvEwnr  m  mm 


— -lu:-  A  ^  IgjBBP3 


OF  THE 


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M3  2 


Front  View  of  the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary. 


BRIEF  SKETCH 

l 

OF  THE 

ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY 

OF  THE 


State 


Penitentiary 

\ 


FOR  THE 

EASTERN  DISTRICT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 


AT  PHILADELPHIA. 


“  The  prison,  as  we  now  know  it,  is  as  entirely  an  institution  of  modern  Europe  as  the  church, 
the  school  and  the  poor-house.  Words  occur,  connected  with  events  and  customs  in  the  ancient 
world,  which  we  can  only  translate  into  modern  language  or  thought  by  the  use  of  the  word  “  prison 
but  the  thing,  as  we  now  know  it,  in  the  shape  of  the  county  jail  or  the  convict-prison,  was  then 
neither  known  nor  anticipated.” — Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol  xviii ,,page  564. 


liV 


RICHARD  VAUX, 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  INSPECTORS. 


TRF 1  mm  nr  TUI 
JUN  6  1934 


,*«i  {j  r  IC>1N0IS 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

MCLAUGHLIN  BROTHERS,  PRINTERS,  Nos.  112  and  114  SOUTH  THIRD  STREET. 


18  72. 


.  V\ 

4 

} 

\3 


* 


Within  the  fast  few  years  public  meetings  have  been  held  in  the  United  States, 
convened  for  the  furfose  of  considering  the  subject  of  penal  jurisprudence  and  the 
various  plans  of  prison  discipline  for  the  punishment  of  offenders  against  the ^  law. 
Whatever  of  merit  these  meetings  may  have  promised,  it  has  become  a  question,  if 
the  energy  which  marked  the  efforts  of  many  of  the  participants  therein  was  not 
more  prominently  exerted  in  discussing  collateral  questions,  than  in  investigating  the 
direct  issues  between  the  separation  of  convicts  and  their  congregation,  while  under¬ 
going  punishment  for  their  crimes.  It  may  be  doubted  if  the  Pennsylvania,  or  the 
“separate"  and -individual-treatment  system  of  Penitentiary  discipline,  has  received 
at  any  of  these  conventions,  that  unbiased  and  calm  investigation,  which  a  liberal 

spirit  of  disinterested  inquiry  should  have  prompted. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  the  meeting  proposed  to  be  held  in  London  in  July  next, 
should  be  informed  of  the  present  condition  of  the  State  Penitentiary  at  Philadelphia, 
in  which  this  separate  and  individual-treatment  of  prisoners  is  now  in  effective  and 
successful  operation;  the  following  brief  sketch  of  the  origin  of  the  system  and  its 
history  has  been  prepared. 

Those  who  are  earnestly  enquiring  after  the  best  system  of  punishment  for 
criminals  will find  that  the  vital  question  to  be  determined,  is  to  ascertain  that  system 
which  best  secures  punishment,  reforms  the  individual,  protects  society,  and  prevents 
the  existence  of  a  crime-class,  educated  and  organised  during  imprisonment.  This  is 
the  serious,  the  primary  question  which  is  paramount  to  “ cost,"  “support"  and  “profit 
making, ”  those  minor  subjects,  which  too  frequently  receive  undue  attention  in  dis - 

cussing  systems  of  punishment . 

The  Board  of  Inspectors  of  the  State  Penitentiary  at  Philadelphia,  at  its 
' meeting,  March,  187 2,  directed  the  President  to  prepare  a  brief  sketch  of  the  origin 
and  history  of  this  Penitentiary,  to  be  fomvarded  to  the  meeting  in  London,  in  July. 

The  Inspectors  believe  that  the  “  separate  system  of  Pennsylvania  "  will  receive 
that  thoughtful  consideration  which  its  history,  the  statement  of  its  progress  and  present 
developments,  and  the  results  of  its  trial  in  this  Institution  for  now  nearly  half  a 

century,  undoubtedly  denicind. 


RICHARD  VAUX, 
ALEXANDER  HENRY, 
THOMAS  H.  POWERS, 
FURMAN  SHEPPARD, 
JOHN  M.  MARIS. 


President  of  the  Board  : 


RICHARD  VAUX. 


Treasurer : 


FURMAN  SHEPPARD. 


Secretary  of  the  Board  : 


JOHN  M.  MARIS. 


I 


THE  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  is  the  only  penal 
institution  in  the  United  States  in  which  the  separate 
imprisonment  of  prisoners  is  now  administered.  The 
peculiar  character  of  this  system  of  punishment  is  so 
little  understood,  and  the  progress  from  the  worst  of  all 
plans  for  the  treatment  of  prisoners  to  the  most  philo¬ 
sophic,  is  so  little  known,  that  the  following  short  history 
of  this  Penitentiary  and  of  the  system  of  punishment  to 
which  it  is  devoted,  is  presented  for  the  information  of 
those  who  are  engaged  in  the  study  of  penal  science 
and  of  penitentiary  discipline.  It  will  be  found  from  this 
narration  that  the  City  of  Philadelphia  has  the  honor 
of  laying  the  foundation  on  which  all  the  subsequent 
efforts  at  penitentiary  reform,  in  Europe  and  America, 
have  been  based.  It  is  to  a  few,  very  few  citizens  of  the 
city  of  Penn,  that  the  merit  belongs  of  originating  and 
stimulating  the  movement  that  has  since  spread  over 
Christendom,  for  the  amelioration  of  the  miseries  of 
prisoners,  the  mitigation  of  prison  discipline,  and  the 
philosophic  investigation  of  that  science  which  relates  to 
the  causes  of  crimes  and  their  prevention,  the  reformation 


2 


6 


of  the  convict,  the  welfare  of  society,  and  the  punishment 
of  the  guilty. 

It  is  beyond  question  that  there  exists  a  principle — 
a  law  comprehending  many  subordinate  truths — which 
must  determine  the  best  system  for  the  penitentiary  pun¬ 
ishment  of  individuals  guilty  of  offences  against  society. 

It  is  equally  certain  that  the  punishment  of  these  offenders  • 
is  a  paramount  necessity.  To  ascertain  what  is  essential 
in  punishment  is  not  difficult,  for  it  is  obvious  that  its 
purpose  should  be  prevention  by  example,  protection  by 
inflicting  penalties,  and  reformation  by  the  agencies  of 
the  system  in  accordance  with  which  the  penalty  is 
administered. 

The  problem  to  be  solved  is  to  determine  what 
system  of  punishment  most  certainly  secures  all  these 
purposes.  Mere  imprisonment,  as  the  penalty,  does  not 
necessarily  accomplish  any  of  these  aims  ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  may  destroy  all  possibility  of  attaining  them. 

From  the  common  jail,  where  all  offenders  accused 
or  convicted,  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  were  indiscrimi¬ 
nately  congregated,  to  the  penitentiary,  in  which  each 
individual  is  separately  treated  as  his  case  demands,  was 
a  vast  progress  in  improvement,  benevolence  and  philan¬ 
thropy,  costing  those  few  persons  who  were  interested 
in  effecting  this  change,  years  of  patient  labor  and  of 
controversy  not  yet  concluded. 

EARLIEST  REFORM. 

“  It  is  a  melancholy  truth,  that  among  the  variety  of 
actions  which  men  are  daily  liable  to  commit,  no  less  than 


7 


a  hundred  and  sixty  have  been  declared  by  act  of  Parlia¬ 
ment  to  be  felonies  without  benefit  of  clergy ;  or,  in  other 
words,  to  be  worthy  of  instant  death.”  Blackstone’s 
Commentaries,  Book  IV.,  page  18  [published  A.  D.  1765.] 
This  was  the  code  which  existed  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  and  the  punishment  for  the  great  body  of  minor 
offences  was  incarceration  in  a  common  jail;  both  sexes 
and  all  colors,  ages,  and  conditions,  convicted  and 
accused,  were  congregated  in  almost  hopeless  misery. 

FIRST  EFFORTS. 

The  first  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  who,  from  authentic 
information,  appears  to  have  been  interested  in  the 
occupants  of  the  then  common  jail  of  the  city,  located  at 
the  corner  of  Market  and  Third  Streets,  was  Richard 
Wistar,  who,  residing  near  by,  had  his  attention  called 
to  the  horrible  condition  of  the  prison,  and  the  real 
miseries  of  its  inhabitants.  The  condition  of  affairs  as 
he  found  it  was  the  first  incentive  to  a  more  general 
interest  in  the  institution. 

FORMATION  OF  PRISON  SOCIETY. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1776,  a  Society  was  formed 
in  this  city  under  the  title  of  “The  Philadelphia  Society 
for  Assisting  Distressed  Prisoners.”* 

A  small  number  of  citizens  united  in  this  Association, 
and  what  good  it  did  or  how  it  was  employed  is  not 
known,  for  in  less  than  two  years  the  British  Army  took 

*  This  was  one  year  prior  to  the  publication  of  Howard’s  work,  “  The  State  of  Prisons  in 
England  and  Wales,”  which  embodied  the  results  of  his  labors  for  three  or  four  years,  and  was  the 
means  of  first  directing  the  attention  of  the  English  people  to  this  subject. 


8 


possession  of  Philadelphia  and  ended  for  a  time  the  labor 
of  the  Society.  It  is  known,  however,  that  the  members 
contributed  “  ten  shillings  ”  annually,  so  that  the  fund 
from  its  amount  was  not  available  for  very  large  efforts. 

The  following  record  is  all  that  has  been  found  of  the 
proceedings  of  this  Society : ' 

“The  British  Army  having  entered  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in 
“September,  1777,  and  possessed  themselves  of  the  public  jails,  no 
“further  service  could  be  rendered,  nor  was  any  election  held  this 
“  month  for  the  appointment  of  new  managers,  so  that  the  Philadelphia 
“  Society  for  Assisting  Distressed  Prisoners  was  dissolved  during  this 
“remarkable  period. 

“  Signed, 

“RICHARD  WELLS, 

“  Secretary 


EARLY  LEGISLATION. 

In  1786,  September  15th,  an  Act  of  Assembly  was 
passed  enacting  the  first  modification  of  the  criminal  code 
of  the  province  which  existed  before  the  Revolutionary 
war.  By  this  modification  the  code  was  ameliorated  by 
the  punishment  of  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  instead  of 
death,  for  robbery,  burglary,  and  the  “  crime  against 
nature.”  This  was  amended  by  the  Act  of  March  27, 
1789.  Both  were  repealed  by  the  Act  of  April  5,  1790. 

In  the  year  1787,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  “Ger¬ 
man  School  House  on  Cherry  Street,”  at  which  a  number 
of  citizens  assembled  and  formed  a  society  which  has 
ever  since  been  most  conspicuous  and  eminently  service¬ 
able  in  efforts  for  the  reform  of  criminal  codes  and  systems 
of  punishment  for  convicts. 

The  Society  then  established  was  called  “The 
Philadelphia  Society  for  Alleviating  the  Miseries  of  Public 


9 


Prisons.”  The  real  objects  of  the  members  of  this 
remarkable  and  ancient  society  may  best  be  explained  by 
a  quotation  from  the  preamble  and  constitution  which  was 
the  basis  of  its  organization. 

“  I  was  in  prison  and  ye  came  unto  me,  *  *  *  and  the  king  shall 
answer  and  say  unto  them,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me.” — Matthew  xxv.  36-40. 

“When  we  consider  that  the  obligations  of  benevolence  which 
are  founded  on  the  precepts  and  example  of  the  author  of  Christianity 
are  not  cancelled  by  the  follies  or  crimes  of  our  fellow  creatures ;  and 
when  we  reflect  upon  the  miseries  which  penury,  hunger,  cold,  un¬ 
necessary  severity,  unwholesome  apartments  and  guilt  (the  usual 
attendants  of  prisons,)  involve  with  them,  it  becomes  us  to  extend  our 
compassion  to  that  part  of  mankind  who  are  the  subjects  of  these 
miseries..  By  the  aid  of  humanity  these  undue  and  illegal  sufferings  * 
may  be  prevented ;  the  links  which  should  bind  the  whole  family  of 
mankind  together  under  all  circumstances  be  preserved  unbroken,  and 
such  degrees  and  modes  of  punishment  may  be  discovered  and  sug¬ 
gested  as  may  instead  of  continuing  habits  of  vice  become  the  means 
of  restoring  our  fellow  creatures  to  virtue  and  happiness.  From  a  con¬ 
viction  and  obligation  of  these  principles  the  subscribers  associate 
themselves.” 

The  Society  elected  a  President,  two  Vice  Presidents, 
two  Secretaries,  a  Treasurer,  four  Physicians,  and  two 
Standing  Committees,  one  for  electing  members,  and  one 
called  “The  Acting  Committee.”  The  annual  contribu¬ 
tion  from  the  members  was  ten  shillings,  (reduced  in 

/ 

1792  to  a  dollar  a  year.)  The  duties  of  the  Acting  Com¬ 
mittee  were  to  visit  the  prisons  every  week,  inquire  into 
the  circumstances  of  persons  therein  confined,  report  all 
abuses,  and  investigate  the  influences  of  the  system  of 
treatment  on  the  prisoners. 


IO 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FIRST  CITY  PRISON. 

The  principal  prison  at  this  time  was  at  the  corner  of 
Market  and  Third  Streets.  It  is  described  as  a  small 
building  two  stories  in  height,  with  underground  dungeons 
for  convicts  sentenced  to  death.  “  What  a  spectacle  must 
this  abode  of  guilt  and  wretchedness  have  presented,  when 
in  one  common  herd  were  kept  by  day  and  by  night 
prisoners  of  all  ages,  colors  and  sexes !  No  separation 
was  made  of  the  most  flagrant  offender  and  convict,  from 
the  prisoner  who  might,  perhaps,  be  falsely  suspected  of 
some  trifling  misdemeanor;  none  of  the  old  and  hardened 
culprits  from  the  youthful,  trembling  novice  in  crime ; 
none  even  of  the  fraudulent  swindler  from  the  unfortu¬ 
nate  and  possibly  the  most  estimable  debtor ;  and  when 
intermingled  with  all  these,  in  one  corrupt  and  corrupting 
assemblage  were  to  be  found  the  disgusting  object  of 
popular  contempt,  besmeared  with  filth  from  the  pillory — 
the  unhappy  victim  of  the  lash,  streaming  with  blood  from 
the  whipping  post — the  half  naked  vagrant — the  loath¬ 
some  drunkard — the  sick,  suffering  with  various  bodily 
pains,  and  too  often  the  unaneled  malefactor,  whose 
precious  hours  of  probation  had  been  numbered  by  his 
earthly  judge.”* 

This  describes  sufficiently  the  origin  of  the  Society 
and  the  condition  of  a  common  jail.  Enough  is  here 
shown  to  satisfy  the  most  incredulous  of  a  need  existing 
for  efforts  such  as  the  Society  was  engaged  to  perform. 

*  Notices  of  the  original  and  successive  efforts  to  improve  the  discipline  of  the  prison  at  Phila¬ 
delphia,  and  to  reform  the  criminal  code  of  Pennsylvania,  with  a  few  observations  on  the  Penitentiary 
system. — Roberts  Vaux,  Philadelphia,  1826. 


But  it  will  be  observed  that  it  was  benevolence  that 
actuated  the  members.  They  had  not  yet  observed,  nor 
had  they  been  led  to  comprehend  that  beyond  “  alleviat¬ 
ing  the  miseries  of  the  public  prisons,”  and  softening  the 
cruel  hardness  of  the  penalties  inflicted  on  humanity  for 
offences  against  the  Commonwealth,  there  was  a  vast 
field  for  intelligent  labor  and  discovery  of  scientific  truth. 
This  society  on  the  16th  of  August,  1787,  first  appealed 
to  the  public  for  aid,  and  the  address,  of  singular  propriety, 
was  “  signed  by  order,  William  White,  President.” 

Bishop  White,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  first  president  of 
the  Society,  over  which  he  presided  for  forty  years,  and 
his  character  gave  to  the  early  labors  of  this  organization 
a  purity  of  purpose  and  a  high  Christian  benevolence  that 
it  even  to  this  day  retains. 

HOW  THE  PRISONERS  WERE  TREATED  IN  I  787. 

By  the  law  as  it  then  existed,  it  was  directed  that 
certain  prisoners  were  to  be  employed  in  cleaning  the 
streets  of  the  city  and  repairing  the  roads,  and  these  pri¬ 
soners,  with  heads  shaved,  and  a  distinguishing  infamous 
dress,  and  chain  and  ball  at  the  leg,  were  at  work  before 
the  gaze  of  the  people.  The  idle  and  the  bad  would  in¬ 
sult  these  poor  wretches,  and  sometimes  conflicts  would 
occur  to  the  scandal  of  order  and  decency.  The  keepers 
were  armed,  and  the  sight  of  such  a  degrading  occupation 
for  the  vicious  or  the  unfortunate  excited  the  public  atten¬ 
tion,  and  first  instigated  the  Society  to  efforts  to  reform 
this  offensive  and  horrible  abuse  of  human  penalties  for 
human  punishment. 


The  result  was  that  a  memorial  was  addressed  “  To 
the  Representatives  of  the  Freemen  of  the  Common¬ 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met.” 

This  memorial  represented  that  punishment  by 
“  more  private  or  even  solitary  labor  would  more  suc¬ 
cessfully  tend  to  redeem  the  unhappy  objects;”  and  it 
recommended  for  consideration  “the  very  great  import¬ 
ance  of  a  separation  of  the  sexes  in  public  prisons,”  ahd 
invoked  legislation  to  these  ends. 

It  is  thus  here  first  appears  the  idea  of  separation  of 
prisoners,  and  labor  in  solitude  rather  than  in  public. 
This  was  the  seed  of  the  separate  system  as  afterwards 
established  in  this  State.  It  will  be  observed  that  “solitary 
confinement  with  labor”  was  the  opposite  of  the  congre¬ 
gation  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  the  convict  and  accused, 
and  of  labor  on  the  public  streets,  and  in  the  sight  of  the 
people.  It  was  this  horrible  condition  of  the  prisoners 
that  evoked  reform ;  and  to  the  minds  of  the  Society  it  was 
plain  that  to  improve  the  then  state  of  the  law  and  the 
penalty,  the  best  and  simplest  means  was  to  adopt  the 
method  which  was  the  opposite  of  that  which  produced 
the  evils  to  be  remedied.  It  was  not  reason,  but  revolt, 
excited  by  the  enormity  of  the  prisoners’  treatment,  that 
demanded  the  substitution  of  the  very  opposite  method. 

ACTION  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

The  Supreme  Executive  Council,  on  the  20th  of 
November,  1788,  adopted  a  resolution  which  the  me¬ 
morial  of  the  Society  induced,  asking  for  information 
on  its  subject  matter.  This  was  referred  to  a  com- 


i3 


mittee,  and  a  full  reply  was  given  to  the  legislative 
body.  The  reply  to  the  Council  enumerates  the  most 
glaring  abuses  in  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  and 
indicates  remedies. 

It  is  not  a  very  remarkable  paper,  except  in  its 
suggestion,  that  spirituous  liquors  should  not  be  given  to 
the  prisoners.  It  reports  “that  twenty  gallons  of  spirits 
had  been  introduced”  into  the  prison  “in  one  day,”  and 
that  the  debtors  complain  that  they  could  not  have  liberty 
to  buy  liquors  at  any  other  place,  but  were  obliged  to 
pay  in  the  jail,  half  a  dollar  for  a  quart,  and  eight  pence 
for  a  gill.  To  get  the  money  they  sold  their  clothes  or 
obtained  it  by  “forcibly  stripping  others  on  their  first  ad¬ 
mission  in  jail.”  The  committee  of  the  Society  remark 
in  the  reply  to  the  Council,  “that  there  are  three  great 
evils  which  call  for  attention,  viz.:  the  mixture  of  the 
sexes,  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  the  indiscriminate 
confinement  of  debtors  and  persons  committed  for  crim¬ 
inal  offences.”  Respecting  the  employment  of  the  con¬ 
victs,  the  committee  report  “on  the  whole  as  a  matter  of 
the  utmost  moment  to  the  well-being,  safety  and  peace 
of  society,  as  well  as  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
criminals,  the  committee  think  it  their  duty  to  declare 
that  from  a  long  and  steady  attention  to  the  real  practical 
state,  as  well  as  the  theory  of  prisons,  they  are  unani¬ 
mously  of  the  opinion  that  solitary  confinement  to  hard 
•  labor,  and  a  total  abstinence  from  spirituous  liquors,  will 
prove  the  most  effectual  means  of  reforming  these  un¬ 
happy  creatures.”  This  paper  was  signed :  “William 
White,  R.  Wells,  B.  Wynkoop,  Thomas  Wistar,  S.  P. 


3 


14 


Griffiths,  John  Kaighn,  William  Rogers,  C.  Marshall,  John 
Connelly,  James  Cooper,  Caleb  Lownes,  Benjamin  Shaw, 
T.  Harrison,  William  Lippincott,  George  Duffield ;  and 
was  dated  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1788.”  “On  the  1 6th,  the  next  day,  it  was  delivered  to 
the  Council  Chamber,  present  Samuel  Miles  and  R. 
Willing.” 

FIRST  IDEA  OF  SOLITARY  CONFINEMENT. 

Here  we  find  the  first  formal,  official  recommenda¬ 
tion  to  the  legislative  power  of  the  province  or  govern¬ 
ment  of  Pennsylvania,  of  “solitary  confinement  to 
hard  labor,”  and  to  the  Society  for  Alleviating  the 
Miseries  of  Public  Prisons,  is  due  the  acknowledgment 
for  originating  the  present  system  of  Pennsylvania  Peni¬ 
tentiary  discipline. 

In  1 789,  the  Society  followed  up  the  suggestions  of 
reform  which  were  contained  in  the  reply  to  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council,  and  devised  a  plan  for  the  permanent 
improvement  of  prison  discipline. 

In  the  following  year,  1 790,  these  propositions  were 
enacted  into  a  law,  which  empowered  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  to  appoint  “  Inspec¬ 
tors  of  the  prison,”  the  important  office  created  by  this 
law.  The  prison  at  the  South-East  corner  of  Walnut 
and  Sixth  Streets,  the  building  of  which  was  commenced 
in  1773,  was  put  into  a  condition  to  test  the'  reforms 
established  by  Act  of  1790.  In  1792,  the  Legislature 
began  an  entire  revision  of  the  penal  laws.  In  1793,  the 
changes  made  were  carefully  observed  by  the  Society. 


l5 


ACT  OF  APRIL  5,  1790,  TO  REFORM  THE  PENAL  LAWS  OF  THIS  STATE  AND 

TRY  THE  SEPARATE  CONFINEMENT  PRINCIPLE  OF  IMPRISONMENT. 

'I' 

<7*  'r*  »T* 

And  whereas  the  laws  heretofore  made  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
the  said  provisions  of  the  Constitution  into  effect  have  in  some  degree 
failed  of  success,  from  the  exposure  of  the  offenders  employed  at  hard 
labor  to  public  view,  and  from  the  communication  with  each  other  not 
being  sufficiently  restrained  within  the  places  of  confinement ;  and  it 
is  hoped  that  the  addition  of  unremitted  solitude  to  laborious  employ¬ 
ment,  as  far  as  it  can  be  effected,  will  contribute  as  much  to  reform  as 
to  deter : 

Section  VIII.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid ,  that  the 
Commissioners  for  the  County  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  approbation 
of  the  Mayor  and  two  of  the  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
and  two  of  the  Justices  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  for  the  County 
of  Philadelphia,  shall,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  cause  a  suitable 
number  of  cells  to  be  constructed  in  the  yard  of  the  gaol  of  the  said 
county,  each  of  which  cells  shall  be  six  feet  in  width,  eight  feet  in 
length,  and  nine  feet  in  heighth,  and  shall  be  constructed  with  brick 
or  stone,  upon  such  plan  as  will  best  prevent  danger  from  fire ;  and 
the  said  cells  shall  be  separated  from  the  common  yard  by  walls  of  such 
height,  as,  without  unnecessary  exclusion  of  air  and  light,  will  pre¬ 
vent  all  external  communication,  for  the  purpose  of  confining  therein 
the  more  hardened  and  atrocious  offenders,  who,  by  the  act,  entitled 
“An  Act  for  amending  the  penal  laws  of  this  State,”  have  been 
sentenced  to  hard  labour  for  a  term  of  years,  or  who  shall  be  sentenced 
thereto  by  virtue  of  this  act. 

Section  IX.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid ,  that,  for 
the  purpose  of  defraying  a  proportionable  part  of  the  expense  of  erect¬ 
ing  such  cells  and  walls,  the  President  and  Supreme  Executive  Council 
shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorised  to  draw  orders  on  the  State 
Treasurer  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds,  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
funds  especially  appropriated  for  claims  and  improvements,  when  the 
same  shall  be  sufficiently  productive ;  and  for  defraying  the  residue  of 
the  expense,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Commissioners  of  the  said  county 
or  a  majority  of  them,  to  assess,  levy  and  collect,  within  the  said  county, 
so  much  money,  as  they,  with  the  concurrence  and  approbation  of  the 
said  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Justices,  shall  judge  necessary,  provided  the 
same  does  not  exceed  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds. 

Section  X.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid ,  that  the  said 
cells  shall  be,  and  are  hereby  declared  to  be  part  of  the  gaol  of  the  city 


and  county  of  Philadelphia ;  and  the  residue  of  the  said  gaol  shall  be 
appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  confining  as  well  such  male  convicts 
sentenced  to  hard  labour,  as  cannot  be  accommodated  in  the  said  cells, 
as  female  convicts  sentenced  in  like  manner,  persons  convicted  of  capi¬ 
tal  offences,  vagrants,  and  disorderly  persons  committed  as  such,  and 
persons  charged  with  misdemeanors  only,  all  which  persons  are  hereby 
required  to  be  kept  separate  and  apart  from  each  other,  as  much  as  the 
convenience  of  the  building  will  admit,  and  to  be  subject  to  the  visita¬ 
tion  and  superintendence  of  the  Inspectors,  hereinafter  appointed. 

In  the  year  1801,  the  Society  again  addressed  the 
Legislature  of  the  State.  The  memorial  refers  to  the 
pleasure  the  progress  made  by  former  legislatures  in  pre¬ 
venting  crimes  and  reforming  criminals  had  given,  and 

•  *• 

encouraged  thereby,  the  memorialists  state  that  they  are 
emboldened  to  call  to  the  notice  of  the  legislature  the 
present  state  of  our  prisons.  “When,”  says  the  memorial, 
“the  reform  was  made  in  our  penal  laws  in  the  year  1790, 
although  the  principles  were  plainly  laid  down,  yet  it  was 
not  expected  that  the  practical  part  could  be  suddenly  or 
completely  effected.  It  was  then  in  some  degree  a  matter 
of  experiment.  An  experiment,  however,  though  imper¬ 
fectly  made,  which  has  not  only  increased  our  internal 
security,  but  has  been  so  far  approved  of  as  to  be 
adopted  in  several  of  our  sister  States.” 

“  Being,  ourselves  fully  convinced  of  the  propriety 
both  of  these  principles  and  this  practice,  we  now  wish 
briefly  to  solicit  your  attention  to  a  most  essential  part  of 
this  humane  and  rational  plan  for  preventing  crimes  and 
reforming  criminals.  Ever  since  the  present  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  prisons,  we  have  wished  to  make  the  fair 
experiment  of  solitude  and  labor  on  the  convicts.”  This 
memorial  is  dated  Philadelphia,  12  mo.  14,  1801. 


*7 


It  soon  became  apparent  that  a  new  prison  must  be 
erected,  in  order  to  carry  out  all  the  reforms  which  the 
reason  and  the  experience  of  the  Society  had  too  plainly 
indicated  as  essential. 

Again  in  1803,  the  Society  addressed  another  memo¬ 
rial  to  the  Legislature.  It  concludes  in  the  following 
words :  “  Placed  as  we  are  in  a  situation  to  observe  the 

salutary  effects  of  solitude  and  labor  in  preventing  crimes 

and  reforming  criminals,  we  trust  you  will  as  heretofore 

* 

receive  our  application  with  indulgence,  and  therefore, 
again  respectfully  submit  to  your  consideration,  the 
propriety  of  granting  another  building  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  making  such  separation  amongst  the  prisoners 
as  the  nature  and  wants  of  this  truly  benevolent  system 
require.” 

In  the  year  1818,  the  Society  presented  to  the  Legis¬ 
lature  another  memorial.  The  committee  on  behalf  of 
the  Society  expressed  their  satisfaction  at  the  progress  in 
prison  management,  and  conclude  thus  :  “  They,  there¬ 

fore,  respectfully  request  the  Legislature  to  consider  the 
propriety  and  expediency  of  erecting  penitentiaries  in 
suitable  parts  of  the  State,  for  the  more  effectual  employ¬ 
ment  and  separation  of  the  prisoners,  and  of  proving  the 
efficacy  of  solitude  on  the  morals  of  those  unhappy 
objects.” 

LAST  EFFORT  TO  HAVE  THE  STATE  PENITENTIARY  ERECTED. 

In  1821,  the  last  effort  was  made  to  induce  the  Legis¬ 
lature  to  erect  a  penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia.  The  Society  again  ad- 


i8 


dressed  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature.  This  memorial 
is  as  follows : 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth  of 

Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met : 

The  memorial  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Alleviating  the 
Miseries  of  Public  Prisons  respectfully  represents  : 

That  it  is  now  nearly  forty  years  since  some  of  your  memorialists 
associated  for  the  purpose  of  alleviating  the  miseries  of  public  prisons, 
as  well  as  for  procuring  the  melioration  of  the  penal  code  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  as  far  as  these  effects  might  be  produced  through  their  influence. 

In  the  performance  of  the  duties  which  they  believed  to  be 
required  of  them  by  the  dictates  of  Christian  benevolence  and  the 
obligations  of  humanity,  they  investigated  the  conduct  and  regulations 
of  the  jail,  and  likewise  the  effects  of  those  degrading  and  sanguinary 
punishments  which  were  at  that  period  inflicted  by  the  laws  of  this 
Commonwealth.  The  result  of  these  examinations  was  a  full  convic¬ 
tion  that  not  only  the  police  of  the  prison  was  faulty,  but  the  penalties 
of  the  law  were  such  as  to  frustrate  the  great  ends  of  punishment  by 
rendering  offenders  inimical  instead  of  restoring  them  to  usefulness  in 
society. 

With  these  impressions,  alterations  in  the  modes  of  punishment 
and  improvements  in  prison  discipline,  were  from  time  to  time  recom¬ 
mended  to  the  legislature,  by  whose  authority  many  changes  were 
adopted  and  many  defects  remedied. 

These  reforms  from  the  nature  of  existing  circumstances  were, 

'  > 
however,  of  comparatively  limited  extent,  but  as  far  as  the  trial  could 

be  made  beneficial  consequences  were  experienced. 

Neighboring  States  and  remote  nations  directed  their  attention  to 
these  efforts,  and,  in  many  instances  adopted  the  principle  which  had 
influenced  the  conduct  of  Pennsylvania. 

At  the  time  of  making  the  change  in  our  penal  code,  substituting 
solitude  and  hard  labour  for  sanguinary  punishments,  the  experiment 
was  begun  in  the  county  jail  of  Philadelphia,  rather  than  the  execution 
of  the  laws  should  be  deferred  to  a  distant  period,  when  a  suitable 
prison  might  be  erected.  Under  all  the  inconveniences  then  subsist¬ 
ing,  the  effects  produced  were  such  as  to  warrant  a  belief  that  the 
plan  would  answer  the  most  sanguine  wishes  of  its  friends,  if  it  could, 
be  properly  tried.  But  the  construction  of  that  prison  and  its  crowded 
condition,  being  the  only  penitentiary  used  for  all  the  convicts  of  the 
State,  leave  but  slender  hopes  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  humane 
intentions  of  the  Legislature. 


l9 


Your  memorialists  believe  that  they  discover  in  the  recent  mea¬ 
sures  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  promise  which  will  fulfil  the  designs  of 
benevolence  in  this  respect.  The  edifice  now  in  progress  at  Pittsburg 
for  the  reception  of  prisoners,  constructed  upon  a  plan  adapted  to  strict 
solitary  confinement,  will  go  far  towards  accomplishing  this  great  pur¬ 
pose;  and  your  memorialists  are  induced  to  hope  that  the  same 
enlightened  policy  which  dictated  the  erection  of  a  State  prison  in  the 
Western,  will  provide  for  the  establishment  of  a  similar  one  in  the 
Eastern  part  of  the  State. 

Reasons  of  the  most  serious  and  substantial  nature  might  be  urged 
to  show  the  absolute  necessity  which  exists  for  a  penitentiary  in  the 
city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  whether  we  regard  the  security  of 
society,  or  the  restoration  of  the  offenders  against  its  laws.  It  will 
not  be  necessary  here  to  recite  the  alarming  proofs  which  might  be 
adduced  in  support  of  their  opinions,  but  refer  to  the  documents  here¬ 
with  furnished  which  exhibit  the  actual  condition  of  the  prison. 

Your  mertiorialists,  therefore,  respectfully  request  that  you  will  be 
pleased  to  take  the  subject  under  your  serious  consideration,  and  if 
you  judge  it  right,  to  pass  -a  law  for  the  erection  of  a  penitentiary  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  the  State,  in  which  the  benefits  of  solitude  and 
hard  labor  may  be  fairly  and  effectually  proved.  Signed  by  order  and 
on  behalf  of  the  Society. 

WILLIAM  WHITE, 

President. 

WILLIAM  ROGERS, 

Vice-President . 

THOMAS  WISTAR, 

Vice-President . 

NICHOLAS  COLLIN, 

SAMUEL  POWEL  GRIFFITTS, 

JOSEPH  REED, 

ROBERTS  VAUX. 

Attest: — Caleb  Cresson, 

Secretary. 

From  this  brief  history  it  will  be  seen  that  from  the 
year  1776  until  1821,  when  the  above  memorial  was  sent 
to  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  the  subject  of  reform  in 
penal  laws  and  in  prison  discipline  had  engaged  the 
attention  of  a  few  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  who, 
from  time  to  time,  gave  to  the  public,  and  to  the  Legis- 


20 


lature,  their  views  and  experience  on  both  these  ques¬ 
tions.  It  will  also  be  observed  that  solitude  and  hard 
labor  were  the  opposites  of  that  treatment  of  prisoners 
which  congregated  them  in  one  common  herd,  and 
kept  many  in  idleness,  while  others  were  degraded  by 
being  forced  to  work  on  the  public  streets.  The  outrage 
of  thus  treating  individuals  whose  misfortune  it  was  to  be 
guilty  of  crimes,  by  exposing  them  to  labor  with  chains 
on  their  limbs  on  the  public  highways,  excited  the  liveliest 
emotions  of  the  philanthropic  men,  who  were  interested 
in  the  relief  of  the  miseries  of  prisoners,  and  who  were 
animated  with  the  hope  that  their  efforts  might  effect 
reforms  and  meliorations  in  the  plan  of  treating  offenders 
which  at  that  time  prevailed.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
Society  whose  efforts  we  have  referred  to ;  and  out  of 
these  efforts  came  knowledge  and  experience  which 
were  not  to  be  limited  to  those  minor  details  in  practical 
benevolence  which  had  suggested  them. 

It  is  most  interesting  to  trace  the  elimination  out 
of  these  sources,  of  the  broad  and  comprehensive  views 
which  at  last  were  enunciated  by  the  members  of  the 
Society,  as  to  the  merits,  objects  and  means,  necessary 
for  reform  in  prison  discipline. 

So  soon  as  the  experiment  of  solitude  with  hard  labor 
for  convicts  was  tried,  rather  than  congregation  of  all 
offenders  and  work  in  public,  it  is  evident  from  the  history 
of  the  Society  as  already  given,  that  the  change  adopted 
induced  such  a  marked  influence  on  the  convicts  as  to,  at 
last,  excite  an  examination  into  the  principles  which  gov¬ 
erned  its  operation  and  produced  these  consequences. 


21 


Between  the  years  1801  and  1821,  this  subject  engaged 
the  attention  of  some  members  of  the  Society  who  were 
more  versed  in  philisophic  investigations  and  scientific 
observations,  and  it  is  to  them  the  present  system  of 
separate  confinement  with  labor  as  now  administered 
in  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  owes  its  origin. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  FRIENDS  OF  SEPARATE  CONFINEMENT,  1 8  20. 

It  is  deemed  important  to  quote  the  following  views 
and  opinions  written  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  the 
establishment  of  the  separate  system  in  the  Penitentiary 
at  Philadelphia,  and  as  demonstrating  the  extent  to  which 
the  reasoning  in  favor  of  separation  had  led  its  advocates. 

These  arguments  are  interesting  now,  showing  as 
they  do  the  objections  made  at  that  time  to  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  system.  “Those  who  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
visiting  prisons,  or  who  have  bestowed  the  least  reflection 

*  '  i 

upon  the  subject,  must  be  convinced  that  the  indiscrimi¬ 
nate  association  of  their  inmates  is  productive  of  evil  in 
many  respects.  The  effect  of  such  intercommunication, 
in  one  sense,  puts  all  crime  upon  a  level;  for  while  the 
same  confinement  is  generally  assigned  to  individuals 
undergoing  various  terms  of  punishment,  there  can  be 
no  wholesome  lesson  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  any 
concerning  different  degrees  of  guilt.  The  burglar  and 
the  highwayman  fare  no  worse  than  the  petty  thief,  except 
in  the  nominal  duration  of  their  confinement ;  and  what 
terror  can  there  be  in  the  punishment  of  .the  former,  which 
will  deter  the  latter  offender  from  extending  the  sphere 

4 


22 


of  his  wickedness  when  cast  upon  society  ?  Even  longer 
detention  in  prisons  is  rarely  felt,  since  the  continual 
admission  of  fresh  convicts,  or  of  old  ones  returned, 
brings  in  constantly  news  for  the  amusement  of  the 
detained  felons,  or  intelligence  which  enables  them  when 
released  to  meet  abroad  their  former  comrades,  and  to 
renew  their  depredations.”* 

This  was  the  argument  in  favor  of  separation  of 
the  convicts  in  the  Penitentiary  then  building  in  Phila¬ 
delphia.  It  is  as  strong  and  conclusive  as  any  ever 
presented  on  behalf  of  the  separate  system  of  peniten¬ 
tiary  discipline.  It  presents  most  satisfactory  evidence 
how  the  principles  on  which  the  system  rests  were  evolved 
out  of  the  experience  which  a  most  imperfect  trial  of 

separation  produced  in  the  Walnut  street  and  the  Arch 

» 

street  jails,  between  the  years  1801  and  1821,  when  the 
last  memorial  of  the  Prison  Society  was  sent  to  the  Leg¬ 
islature  asking  for  a  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Although  the  reform  in  prison  discipline  was  pro¬ 
gressing  to  accomplishment,  it  was  met  by  opposition 
from  unexpected  sources.  Howard  in  England,  had 
awakened  attention  to  the  subject  of  prisons  and  their 
management.  He  returned  from  a  visit  to  Europe  about 
the  year  1787,  and  his  account  of  the  terrible  state  of  the 
prisons  he  there  visited,  created  a  movement  in  his  own 
country  for  a  better  condition  of  the  jails.  Out  of  this 
incentive  to  effort,  a  society  was  organized  with  similar 
objects  to  those  of  the  Philadelphia  Society,  and  it  begun  its 

*  Roberts  Vaux'  notices,  &c.,  and  reform  in  Penal  Code,  by  Kimber  &  Sharpless,  Philadelphia, 


1826. 


23 


work.  Information  was  exchanged  between  these  bodies, 
and  when,  in  1821,  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  enacted 
laws  for  the  reform  in  prison  discipline,  and  the  State 
penitentiaries  were  directed  to  be  built,  in  which  the 
solitude  and  hard  labor  plan  was  to  be  inaugurated,  it 
produced  opposition  from  some  of  the  philanthropic 
members  of  the  English  Society.  William  Roscoe,  of 
Liverpool,  addressed  two  letters  to  Roberts  Vaux,  severely 
animadverting  on  the  Pennsylvania  plan  of  prison  disci¬ 
pline.  In  reply  to  these  letters  a  full  refutation  was 
made  of  Mr.  Roscoe’s  views. 

But  the  new  system  had  other  advocates  and  de¬ 
fenders,  Geo.  Washington  Smith,  Esq.,  Dr.  Franklin 
Bache,  the  Hon.  John  Sergeant,  Col.  Samuel  Miller,  U. 
S.  M.  Corps,  of  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Francis  Lieber,  and  the 
Hon.  Edward  Livingston,  of  Louisiana,  wrote  in  its  be¬ 
half,  each  discussing  the  various  objections  to  the  system, 
and  showing  that  they  were  grounded  in  fears  rather 
than  in  knowledge  or  experience. 

The  following  extract  from  the  answer  of  Roberts 
Vaux,  [1827]  to  the  letter  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  will  show  how 
the  system  was  understood  by  one  of  its  founders: 

It  is  very  evident  to  my  mind,  that  the  true  nature  of  the  separate 
co7ifine7nent  which  is  proposed,  requires  explanation.  I  will  therefore 
endeavour  to  describe,  what  is  intended  by  its  friends.  Previously, 
however,  it  ought  to  be  understood,  that  the  chambers  and  yards  pro¬ 
vided  for  the  prisoners,  are  like  anything  but  those  dreary,  and  fearful 
abodes,  which  the  pamphlet  before  me  would  represent  them  to  be, 
“  destmed  to  co7itain  art  epito77te  aTid  coTicentratioTi  of  all  human  misery, 
of  which  the  Bastile  of  France ,  a7id  the  Inquisition  of  Spam,  were  only 
prototypes  and  Immble  models.  ’  ’ 

The  rooms  of  the  new  Penitentiary  at  Philadelphia  are  fire-proof, 
of  comfortable  dimensions,  with  convenient  courts  to  each,  built  on 


24 


the  surface  of  the  ground — judiciously  lighted  from  the  roof — well  ven¬ 
tilated  and  warmed,  and  ingeniously  provided  with  means  for  affording 
a  continual  supply  of  excellent  water,  to  ensure  the  most  perfect 
cleanliness  of  every  prisoner,  and  his  apartment.*  They  are,  moreover, 
so  arranged  as  to  be  inspected,  and  protected,  without  a  military  guard, 
usually  though  unnecessarily  employed  in  establishments  of  this  kind 
in  most  other  States. 

In  these  chambers  no  individual,  however  humble,  or  elevated, 
can  be  confined,  so  long  as  the  public  liberty  shall  endure,  but  upon 
conviction  of  a  known  and  well  defined  offence,  by  the  verdict  of  a 
jury  of  the  country,  and  under  the  sentence  of  a  court,  for  a  specified 
time.  The  terms  of  imprisonment  it  is  believed  can  be  apportioned 
to  the  nature  of  every  crime  with  considerable  accuracy,  and  will  no 
doubt  be  measured  in  that  merciful  degree,  which  has  uniformly  charac¬ 
terized  the  modern  penal  legislation  of  Pennsylvania.  Where  then, 
allow  me  to  inquire,  is  there  in  this  system  the  least  resemblance  to  that 
dreadful  receptacle  constructed  in  Paris,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  and  which  at  different  periods  through  four  centuries  and  a  half, 
was  an  engine  of  oppression,  and  torture,  to  thousands  of  innocent 
persons ;  or  by  what  detortion  can  it  be  compared  to  the  inquisitorial 
courts  and  prisons,  that  were  instituted  in  Italy,  Portugal,  and  Spain, 
between  the  years  1251  and  1537? 

With  such  accommodations  as  I  have  mentioned,  and  with  the 
moderate  duration  of  imprisonment  contemplated  on  the  Pennsylvania 
plan,  I  cannot  admit  the  possibility  of  the  consequences  which  thy 
pamphlet  predicts,  “  that  a  great  number  of  individuals  will  probably  be 
put  to  death  by  the  superinduction  of  diseases  inseparable  from  such 
7node  of  treat77ient.  ”  Ido  not  apprehend  either  the  physical  maladies, 
so  vividly  portrayed,  or  the  mental  sufferings,  which  with  equal  confi¬ 
dence  it  is  promised,  shall  11  cause  the  77iind  to  rush  back  upon  itself  \  and 
drive  reason  fro77i  her  seat .”  On  the  contrary  it  is  my  belief,  that  less 
bodily  indisposition,  and  less  mortality,  will  attend  separate  confine¬ 
ment,  than  imprisonment  upon  the  present  method,  for  which  some 
reasons  might  be  given  that  it  would  be  improper  here  to  expose. 

By  separate  confinement ,  therefore,  it  is  intended  to  punish  those 
who  will  not  control  their  wicked  passions  and  propensities,  thereby 
violating  divine  and  human  laws ;  and  moreover  to  effect  this  punish¬ 
ment,  without  terminating  the  life  of  the  culprit  in  the  midst  of  his 
wickedness,  or  making  a  mockery  of  justice  by  forming  such  into  com¬ 
munities  of  hardened,  and  corrupting  transgressors,  who  enjoy  each 

*  The  exact  size  of  the  chambers  is  8  feet  by  12  feet,  the  highest  point  of  the  ceiling  16  feet.  The 
yards  are  8  feet  by  20  feet. 


1 


25 


other’s  society,  and  contemn  the  very  power  which  thus  vainly  seeks 
their  restoration,  and  idly  calculates  to  afford  security  to  the  State,  from 
their  outrages  in  future. 

In  separate  confinement  every  prisoner  is  placed  beyond  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  being  made  more  corrupt  by  his  imprisonment,  since  the  least 
association  of  convicts  with  each  other  must  inevitably  yield  pernicious 
consequences  in  a  greater  or  less  degree. 

In  separate  confinement,  the  prisoners  will  not  know  who  are 
undergoing  punishment  at  the  same  time  with  themselves,  and  thus  will 
be  afforded  one  of  the  greatest  protections  to  such  as  may  happily  be 
enabled  to  form  resolutions  to  behave  well  when  they  are  discharged, 
and  be  better  qualified  to  do  so ;  because  plans  of  villainy  are  often 
formed  in  jail  which  the  authors  carry  into  operation  when  at  large,  not 
unfrequently  engaging  the  aid  of  their  companions,  who  are  thereby 
induced  to  commit  new  and  more  heinous  offences,  and  come  back  to 
prison  under  the  heaviest  sentences  of  the  law. 

In  separate  confinement ,  it  is  especially  intended  to  furnish  the 
criminal  with  every  opportunity  which  Christian  duty  enjoins,  for  pro¬ 
moting  his  restoration  to  the  path  of  virtue,  because  seclusion  is  believed 
to  be  an  essential  ingredient  in  moral  treatment,  and  with  religious  in¬ 
struction  and  advice  superadded,  is  calculated  to  achieve  more  than  has 
ever  yet  been  done,  for  the  miserable  tenants  of  our  Penitentiaries. 

In  separate  confinement  a  specific  graduation  of  punishment  can  be 
obtained,  as  surely,  and  with  as  much  facility  as  by  any  other  system. 
Some  prisoners  may  labour — some  may  be  kept  without  labour — some 
may  have  the  privilege  of  books — others  may  be  deprived  of  it — some 
may  experience  total  seclusion — others  may  enjoy  such  intercourse  as 
shall  comport  with  an  entire  separation  of  prisoners. 

In  separate  confinement ,  the  same  variety  of  discipline,  for  offences 
committed  after  convicts  are  introduced  into  prison,  which  any  other 
mode  affords,  can  be  obtained,  though  irregularities  must  necessarily 
be  less  frequent, — by  denying  the  refractory  individual  the  benefit  of 
his  yard,  by  taking  from  him  his  books  or  labour,  and  lastly,  in  extreme 
cases,  by  diminishing  his  diet  to  the  lowest  rate.  By  the  last  mean, 
the  most  fierce,  hardened,  and  desperate  offender  can  be  subdued. 

Hon.  John  Sergeant,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  jurists  of  this  country,  in  a  letter  published  in 
1827,  in  vindication  of  the  Pennsylvania  system,  said: 

The  objection  to  it  is,  that  its  severity  would  be  intolerable.  As 
it  has  never  been  fairly  tested  by  experiment,  this  objection  must,  for 


26 


the  present,  be  somewhat  conjectural.  There  may  be  individuals  who 
will  not  be  able  to  endure  continued  solitude  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time.  In  such  cases,  some  modification  in  their  favour  may  be 
necessary.  Experience  will  show  to  what  extent  this  ought  to  be  made. 
That  there  are  any  to  whom  solitary  confinement,  even  for  a  short 
time,  would  be  fatal,  or  even  highly  injurious  may  well  be  doubted,  for 
we  have  had  frequent  instances,  of  its  infliction  without  such  effects. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  charge  of  cruelty,  with  which  it  has 
been  stigmatized  in  advance,  and  therefore  gratuitously.  It  may  be 
replied,  in  the  first  place,  that  if  it  be  only  meant  that  the  punishment 
will  be  severe,  but  without  injury  to  the  health  or  morals  of  the  patient, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  objection.  Punishment  ought  to  be  severe,  if  it 
is  meant  to  operate  at  all.  People  are  not  sent  to  prison,  to  enjoy 
there  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life.  It  may  be  replied,  further,  that 
admitting  it  to  be  severe,  or  even  very  severe,  before  it  can  on  that 
account  be  condemned,  it  must  be  compared  with  any  other  practicable 
mode  of  punishment,  and  a  fair  comparison  made  of  the  cruelty  (so 
called)  of  each.  And  in  making  this  comparison,  we  must  take  into  the 
account,  the  general  merits  of  the  respective  plans  as  they  tend  more  or 
less  to  the  welfare  of  society,  and  of  the  unhappy  subject  of  punishment. 
If  there  is  a  well  grounded  hope  of  lessening  the  quantity  of  crime  and 
thus  promoting  the  general  happiness  and  security  of  society,  and  if  there 
is  also  a  hope  of  reforming  the  criminal,  or  even  deterring  him  from  the 
repetition  of  crime,  these  are  powerful  considerations  to  be  placed  in 
the  scale  against  specific  objections  of  severity.  Nor,  in  this  estimate, 
must  we  forget,  that  this  plan  of  solitary  confinement  has  one  peculiar 
and  great  recommendation  which  no  one  can  question.  It  will  prevent 
prisoners  from  injuring  each  other  by  vicious  instruction,  a  most  cruel 
thing,  it  must  be  admitted,  as  it  relates  to  those  who  are  exposed  to 
such  a  noviciate,  and  as  it  relates  to  society  in  general. 

In  1828,  Hon.  Edward  Livingston,  an  erudite  lawyer 
and  a  publicist  of  great  learning,  in  a  printed  letter  on 
the  subject,  used  the  following  language: 

But  above  all  do  not  force  those  whom  you  are  obliged  to  im¬ 
prison  before  trial,  be  they  innocent  or  guilty,  into  that  contaminating 
society  from  which,  after  they  are  found  to  be  guilty,  you  are  so 
anxious  to  keep  them.  Remember,  that  in  Philadelphia,  as  well  as  in 
New  York,  more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  are  annually  com¬ 
mitted  ;  of  whom  not  one-fourth  are  found  to  be  guilty ;  and  that  thus 


27 


you  have  introduced  every  year  1800  persons,  presumed  to  be  innocent, 

t 

into  a  school  where  every  vice  and  every  crime  is  taught  by  the  ablest 
masters ;  and  we  shut  our  eyes  to  this  enormous  evil,  and  inconsistently 
go  on  preaching  the  necessity  of  seclusion  and  labour,  and  industry 
after  conviction,  as  if  penitentiaries  were  the  only  places  in  which 
the  contamination  of  evil  society  were  to  be  dreaded.  Why  will  not 
Pennsylvania  take  the  lead  in  perfecting  the  work  she  began ;  and  in¬ 
stead  of  patchwork  legislation,  that  can  never  be  effectual,  establish  a 
complete  system,  in  which  all  the  different,  but  mutually  dependent 
subjects  of  education,  pauperism,  penal  law,  and  prison  discipline 
should  be  embraced  ?  I  am  preaching  I  know  to  the  converted,  when 
I  urge  the  consideration  of  these  subjects  upon  you :  but  mutual  ex¬ 
hortation  is  of  service  even  between  those  who  think  alike,  and  there 
is  np  cause  to  the  success  of  which  I  would  more  willingly  devote  my 
feeble  talents,  and  the  exertions  of  my  life,  including,  as  it  does,  the 
cause  of  religion,  humanity,  and  social  order,  than  the  one  which  forms 
the  subject  of  this  letter ;  there  is  none,  I  am  sure,  more  interesting  to 
you,  and  therefore  I  will  mix  with  it  no  other  than  that  of  the  high 
esteem  with  which  I  am  always,  my  dear  sir,  your  friend  and  humble 
servant. 

The  Hon.  H.  W.  Desaussure,  an  eminent  member 
of  the  Judiciary  of  South  Carolina,  in  his  views  upon  this 
subject,  published  in  1834,  says: 

I  confess  my  own  mind  had  imbibed  some  prejudices  against  it  as 
a  cruel  punishment,  and  as  tending  to  drive  the  mind  to  madness. 
Experience  has  shewn,  it  seems  that  the  latter  effect  has  not  been  pro¬ 
duced,  and  the  severity  of  solitary  confinement  is  entirely  obviated  by 
the  prisoner  being  allowed  to  labor  and  to  receive  instruction,  literary 
and  moral  during  his  confinement.  These  seem  to  approximate  the 
system  as  near  to  perfection  as  any  human  plan  can  be  carried  into 
effect ;  we  must  not,  however,  expect  too  much  from  it.  If  we  suppose 
this  treatment  will  reform  all  offenders,  we  shall  be  mistaken.  The 
strongest  motives  are  held  out  by  human  and  divine  laws  to  avoid  the 
commission  of  crimes,  yet  men  commit  them  daily. 

In  1829,  Mr.  George  W.  Smith,  of  this  city,  a  culti¬ 
vated  student  and  acute  investigator,  published  a  “De¬ 
fence  of  the  Pennsylvania  System  of  Solitary  Confinement 


28 


of  prisoners.”  A  second  edition  of  this  pamphlet  ap¬ 
peared  in  1833,  and  in  it  he  expresses  his  views  as  follows: 

The  introduction  of  labour  as  an  essential  element  of  a  general 
system  of  prison  discipline,  may  perhaps  be  justly  attributed  to  that 
spirit  of  economy  which  characterizes  the  legislation  of  the  Dutch. 
The  maintenance  of  any  class  in  idleness,  has  never  been  intentionally 
practised  by  this  industrious  and  thrifty  nation.  Hence  prisons  and 
workhouses  have  been  synonymous  terms  in  Holland  from  a  very 
remote  period:  attempts  to  promote  reformation  by  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  prisoners  appear  to  have  been  sometimes  made  in 
that  country  with  partial  success.  In  no  other  part  of  Europe  was  this 
system  generally  pursued :  in  few  countries  was  it  at  tempted  in  any  of 
their  prisons;  and  in  Great  Britain,  it  had  not  even  entered  into  their 
imaginations.  We  think  it  highly  probable,  that  our  illustrious  founder, 
William  Penn,  observed,  during  his  travels  in  Holland,  this  striking 
feature  of  their  policy,  and  resolved  to  adopt  the  measure,  when  he 
projected  the  celebrated  code  of  laws  in  England,  (1682)  for  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  this  province.  In  the  tenth  section  it  is  expressly  declared 
that  “all  prisons  shall  be  workhouses  for  felons,  vagrants  and  loose 
and  idle  persons.”  The  Great  Law  (1682)  contains  a  similar  enact¬ 
ment — the  stock  on  which  all  our  subsequent  legislation  has  been 
grafted.  The  merit  therefore  of  originality,  has  been  perhaps  errone¬ 
ously  attributed  to  him.  It  is  however  sufficient  praise  that  he  had  the 
penetration  to  perceive  and  judgment  to  approve  and  copy  these  useful 
institutions  of  a  foreign  land.  His  fame  as  a  legislator  for  originality 
and  humanity  rests  on  a  sure  basis — the  abolition  of  the  punishment  of 
death  for  all  crimes  but  murder,  (which  exception  however  is  known  to 
have  been  contrary  to  his  opinion.)  From  the  year  1682  to  1717 
labour  formed  an  invariable  portion  of  the  punishments  of  those 
sentenced  to  our  prisons:  at  this  period  our  mild  Penal  Code  was 
finally  repealed  by  Great  Britain,  which  had  neither  the  humanity  to 
adopt  it,  nor  the  magnanimity  to  permit  its  continuance.  The  decline 
of  this  system,  until  its  final  extinction  in  practice,  some  years  before 
the  revolution,  proves  the  negligence  of  our  ancestors.  At  some  future 
time  we  may  resume  this  subject,  but  our  present  design  will  not  permit 
us  at  present  to  discuss  this  interesting  portion  of  our  history. 

A  few  years  before  the  revolution,  the  Penal  Code  with  its  sangui¬ 
nary  enactments,  and  the  abuses  existing  in  prison  discipline,  began  to 
attract  the  attention  of  some  of  the  humane  citizens  of  Philadelphia; 
they  finally  formed  a  Society  on  the  7th  February,  1776,  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  their  benevolent  designs.  This  association,  which 


29 


was  called  “The  Philadelphia  Society  for  assisting  distressed  Prison¬ 
ers,”  after  a  brief  but  not  useless  existence  of  nineteen  months,  was 
dissolved,  or  rather  suspended,  by  the  capture  of  Philadelphia  in  1777. 
The  public  mind  had  been  however  prepared  for  the  amelioration  of 
the  Penal  Code,  partly  by  the  efforts  of  the  members  of  this  Society; 
and  the  first  constitution  of  the  State  in  1776,  ordains  in  Chap.  2,  Sec. 
28,  that  “punishments  be  made  in  some  cases  less  sanguinary,”  and  in 
Sec.  39,  punishment  by  “hard  labour”  in  the  prisons  is  substituted. 
The  law  remained  a  dead  letter  during  that  memorable  period ;  and  it 
was  not  until  the  year  1786,  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  that  the  sub¬ 
ject  was  resumed,  and  hard  labour  enforced;  but  these  efforts  were  par¬ 
tial  and  ineffectual.  In  the  following  year,  1787,  May  8,  some  of  the 
surviving  members  of  the  Society  previously  mentioned,  and  others, 
reorganized  the  association  under  the  name  of  “The  Philadelphia 
Society  for  alleviating  the  miseries  of  public  prisons.”  This  useful  and 
unassuming  body  is  the  parent  of  all  the  societies  which  have  been  since 
formed  for  similar  purposes  in  Europe  and  this  country.  It  has  per¬ 
haps  effected  more  for  the  permanent  benefit  of  mankind,  than  any  of 
the  meritorious  charities  of  this  city  of  benevolence.  It  has  the 
enviable  fame  of  being  the  first  to  reduce  the  humane  and  philosophic 
theory  of  preventive  and  reforming  punishments,  by  the  separate 
confinement  and  instruction  of  prisoners,  to  the  unerring  test  of 
successful  experiment. 

Before  we  describe  the  actual  introduction  of  solitary  confinement, 
as  it  is  perhaps  erroneously  styled,  into  our  system  of  legislation,  it 
may  be  expedient  to  make  a  few  observations  on  the  history  of  this 
interesting  department  of  prison  discipline. 

As  a  means  of  mere  effectual  seclusion  from  society  and  the  pre¬ 
vention  of  further  injury  by  prisoners  during  the  period  of  incarcera¬ 
tion,  and  as  a  mode  of  inflicting  vindictive  punishment,  it  has  been 
partially  practised  in  almost  every  nation  from  the  remotest  ages.  The 
Egyptians  were  accustomed  to  bury  alive  in  the  dark,  narrow  and 
secluded  cells  of  some  of  their  vast  and  secure  edifices,  which  at  once 
served  for  prisons  and  for  tombs,  certain  offenders  against  their  laws. 
These  unhappy  victims,  from  the  hour  when  they  were  immured,  until 
the  tedious  period  when  death  released  them  from  their  lingering 
misery,  never  beheld  the  light  of  day,  never  inhaled  the  fresh  air  of 
heaven,  and  never  again  beheld  the  face  of  man,  or  heard  the  consoling 
accents  of  his  voice.  Among  the  Romans,  among  the  nations  of  the 
dark  ages,  among  the  modern  Italian  republics,  and  in  yet  later  times, 
solitary  confinement  has  been  occasionally  practised  as  one  of  the  most 
dreadful  means  of  vindictive  punishment — a  confinement  unmitigated, 


5 


30 


absolute,  and  inhuman ;  a  confinement  at  the  mere  mention  of  which 
the  philanthropist  shudders  with  horror,  and  the  philosophic  reformer 
turns  aside  with  disgust  and  reprobation. 

The  earliest  cases  of  solitary  confinement  as  an  intended  means  of 
reform ,  may  be  discovered  in  the  records  of  ecclesiastical  history. 
Nevertheless  it  is  to  Catholic  Rome  that  we  owe  the  first  great  reform  in 
Penitentiary  discipline.  The  prison  in  which  it  was  introduced  re¬ 
mained  for  nearly  a  century  a  solitary  instance  of  successful  benevo¬ 
lence,  extended  no  further  in  Rome,  where  it  originated,  and  unimi¬ 
tated  in  Christendom !  The  Hospital  of  St.  Michael,  (founded  in 
Rome  1718,)  was  the  first  “  house  of  refuge ”  in  Europe.  Mere  work- 
houses,  in  which  the  operatives  were  felons,  had  indeed  been  established 
in  other  countries;  and  although  in  a  few  of  them  instruction  had  been 
attempted,  the  corrupting  intercourse  which  was  permitted  day  and 
night;  the  mixture  of  all  ages,  ranks  and  sexes,  into  one  corrupting 
leavened  mass  of  shameless  iniquity,  rendered  the  consignment  of  a 
juvenile  offender  to  these  abodes  of  sin,  a  certain  sentence  of  moral 
death.  He  who  entered  their  gates  a  novice  in  guilt,  accomplished 
his  education  in  villainy;  and  leaving  character,  shame,  independence, 
and  every  incentive  to  voluntary  industry  and  virtue  within  their  walls, 
departed  an  adept  in  crime,  ignorant  only  of  his  duties ,  prepared  to 
practice  at  the  expense  of  society  those  lessons  of  vice  which  its  folly 
had  forced  on  his  acquaintance,  and  almost  compelled  him  to  exercise 
as  a  profession  when  discharged.  Such  was  the  deplorable  condition 
of  these  colleges  of  crime,  as  prisons  have  been  too  correctly  denomi¬ 
nated,  when  this  noble  institution  of  St.  Michael  was  commenced;  the 
foundations  were  laid  on  the  firm  basis  of  humanity  and  sound  philo¬ 
sophy.  The  great  evils  of  idleness  were  prevented  by  constant  labour 
during  the  day;  classification  to  a  certain  extent,  and  silence,  as  far  as 
practicable  in  an  assembly,  were  enforced;  and  separate  dormitories, 
or  night  rooms,  for  each  prisoner,  provided :  appropriate  moral  senti¬ 
ments  were  inscribed  on  conspicuous  tablets,  for  the  continual 
inspection  of  the  inmates;  and  above  all,  religious  instruction  was 
administered. 

The  assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the 
society,  in  the  year  1789-90,  effected  a  radical  change  in  the  discipline 
of  the  prison.  The  convicts  were  compelled  to  labour;  the  sexes  were 
separated ;  the  convicts  were  separated  from  the  untried  prisoners  and 
debtors;  suitable  food  and  clothing  were  provided  for  them;  the 
introduction  of  ardent  spirits  was  strictly  prohibited,  and  jail  fees  and 
garnish  utterly  abolished;  above  all,  religious  instruction,  and  as  far 
as  possible,  a  classification  of  the  prisoners,  were  introduced ;  conver- 


3i 


sation  was  also  restrained.  The  prisoners  at  that  time  not  being 
numerous,  these  arrangements  Were  practicable  in  the  prison;  which 
was  however  far  too  limited  to  test  the  merits  of  the  system  of  improve¬ 
ments,  which  the  society  was  anxious  to  introduce.  The  Legislature 
was  not  at  that  time  prepared  to  appropriate  a  sufficient  sum  of  money 
to  construct  a  new  and  perfect  prison  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the 
merits  of  an  untried  experiment,  however  flattering  might  be  the 
prospects  of  success.  The  friends  of  the  new  system  were  willing  to 
test  its  merits  with  the  imperfect  apparatus  which  alone  was  at  their 
disposal.  These  alterations,  in  conjunction  with  some  others  of  a 
minor  description,  would  alone  have  produced  effects  highly  beneficial; 
and  doubtless  a  portion  of  the  reformation,  which  most  unquestiona¬ 
bly  was  produced  by  the  new  system,  is  attributable  to  them;  but 
the  great  object  of  reform  was  mainly  produced  by  the  celebrated  law, 
enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  April  5th,  1790,  by  which 
separate  and  solitary  confinement  was  first  introduced.  In  the  pream¬ 
ble  to  that  act,  it  is  declared  that  the  previous  laws  for  the  punishment 
of  criminals  “had  failed  of  success,”  “from  the  communication  with 
each  other  not  being  sufficiently  restrained  within  the  places  of  con¬ 
finement,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  addition  of  unremitted  solitude  to 
laborious  employment,  as  far  as  it  can  be  effected,  will  contribute  as 
much  to  reform  as  to  deter.”  In  the  8th  section  it  is  ordered  that  “a 
suitable  number  of  cells  be  constructed  in  the  yard  of  the  jail  of  the 
said  county,  each  of  which  cells  shall  be  six  feet  in  width,  eight  feet  in 
length,  and  nine  feet  in  height;  and  the  said  cells  shall  be  separate 
from  the  common  yard,  by  a  wall  of  such  height,  as,  without  any 
unnecessary  exclusion  of  air  and  light,  will  prevent  all  external 
communication  for  the  purpose  of  confining  therein  the  more  hardened 
and  atrocious  offenders,”  viz:  those  mentioned  in  this  and  a  former 
Act. 

In  Section  10th,  “the  residue  of  the  said  jail  shall  be  appropriated 
to  the  purposes  of  confining  as  well  such  male  convicts  sentenced  to 
hard  labour,  as  cannot  be  accommodated  in  the  said  cells,  as  female 
convicts  sentenced  in  like  manner,  persons  convicted  of  capital 
offences,  vagrants,  and  disorderly  persons  committed  as  such,  and 
persons  charged  with  misdemeanors  only;  all  which  persons  are  hereby 
required  to  be  kept  separate  and  apart  from  each  other  as  much  as  the 
convenience  of  the  building  will  admit,”  &c.  In  Section  13th, 
“during  which  labour  the  said  offenders  shall  be  kept  separate  and 
apart  from  each  other ,  if  the  nature  of  their  several  employments  will 
admit  thereof ;  and  where  the  nature  of  such  employment  requires  two 
or  more  to  work  together,  the  keeper  of  the  said  jail,  or  one  of  his 


32 


deputies,  shall,  if  possible,  be  constantly  present.”  In  Section  21st, 
for  certain  offences  committed  within  the  prison ,  the  jailer  is  authorized 
to  confine  prisoners  violating  the  discipline  of  the  prison  in  the  dark 
cells,  on  bread  and  water,  for  a  short  time  only;  but  in  the  county 
prisons,  the  period  of  inflicting  this  punishment  is  unlimited. 

EXPERIENCE  CONFIRMS  THEORY. 

* 

The  forty  years  of  trial  that  has  been  given  to  the 
Pennsylvania  system  in  the  Penitentiary  at  Philadelphia, 
demonstrates  that  the  objections  to  the  separate  system 
have,  by  actual  experience  within  the  Penitentiary,  been 
thoroughly  disproved,  and  this  demonstration  rests  upon 
a  body  of  voluminous,  elaborate  and  minutely  classified 
statistics,  embracing  industrial,  moral  and  educational 
relations  of  every  prisoner  received  in  the  Institution, 
and  also  their  mental  and  physical  health  on  admission 
and  discharge.  These  statistical  tables  are  regarded  of 
very  great  value  as  the  best  evidence  of  the  develop¬ 
ments  made  during  the  period  of  progress  in  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  separate,  or  individual-treatment  system 

# 

of  Penitentiary  discipline. 

ACT  OF  ASSEMBLY  FOR  ERECTION  OF  THE  STATE  PENITENTIARY 

AT  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  Legislature  of  this  State,  by  an  Act  of  March 
20,  1821,  authorized  the  construction  of  the  State  Peni¬ 
tentiary  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  State  Penitentiary,  in  the 
Western  District  at  Pittsburgh,  was  first  authorized  to  be 
erected,  and  it  was  progressing  at  the  date  of  the  Act 
for  the  erection  of  the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary.  The 


33 


t 


plan  adopted  for  the  Pittsburgh  Penitentiary  was  defective, 
as  was  proved  early  in  its  history.  The  changes  deemed 
necessary  were  made  in  the  plan  of  the  Eastern  Peni¬ 
tentiary. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Act  of  the  General 
Assembly,  authorizing  the  erection  of  the  State  Peniten¬ 
tiary  at  Philadelphia,  bearing  date  March  20,  1821  : 


AN  ACT 


To  provide  for  the  erection  of  a  State  Penitentiary  within  the  City  and  County  of  Philadelphia. 


Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen¬ 
tatives  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly 
met ,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same ,  That  a  State 
Penitentiary,  capable  of  holding  two  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  on 
the  principle  of  solitary  confinement  of  the  convicts ,  as  the  same  now  is, 
or  hereafter  may  be,  established  by  law,  shall  be  erected  at  such  place 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  or  county  of  Philadelphia,  as  the  com¬ 
missioners,  hereinafter  mentioned,  shall  fix  and  appoint,  to  be  called 
the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District,  the  expense  whereof 
shall  be  defrayed  in  the  manner  and  out  of  the  funds  hereinafter 
provided. 

Section  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  following  named  persons,  viz.:  Thomas  Wistar,  Dr.  Samuel 
P.  Griffitts,  Peter  Miercken,  George  N.  Baker,  Thomas  Bradford,  jun., 
John  Bacon,  Samuel  R.  Wood,  Thomas  Sparks,  James  Thackara, 
Daniel  H.  Miller  and  Caleb  Carmalt,  be,  and  they  hereby  are 
appointed  commissioners  for  the  erection  of  said  Penitentiary,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  select  and  purchase  a  suitable  site  within  the  city 
and  county  of  Philadelphia  for  the  same,  the  title  whereof  shall  be 
vested  in  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania;  to  make  all  the  neces¬ 
sary  contracts  for  the  building  of  the  said  Penitentiary,  taking  security 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  said  work,  in  a  good  and  workman¬ 
like  manner :  and  in  case  of  the  death  or  resignation  of  any  of  the 
said  commissioners,  before  the  completion  of  their  trust,  the  Governor 
shall  appoint  suitable  persons  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Section  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  said  Penitentiary  shall  be  constructed  on  the  plan  of  the 
Penitentiary  of  Pittsburg,  subject  to  such  alterations  and  improve- 


34 


ments  as  the  said  commissioners,  or  a  majority  of  them,  may,  from 
time  to  time,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Governor,  approve  and 
direct :  Provided  always ,  That  the  p?’inciple  of  the  solitary  confinement 
of  the  prisoners  be  preserved  and  maintained. 

Section  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  be,  and  is  hereby 
appropriated  to  be  paid  after  the  first  day  of  October,  on  warrants 
drawn  by  the  Governor  in  favour  of  the  said  commissioners,  on  the 
treasurer  of  the  commonwealth,  to  be  by  them  applied  in  purchasing 
the  site,  and  thereon  erecting  the  Penitentiary  aforesaid ;  and  the  said 
commissioners  shall  furnish  a  detailed  statement  of  their  accounts  to 
the  accountant  department  quarterly,  to  be  settled  and  adjusted  in  the 
usual  manner :  Provided ,  That  the  Governor  shall  have  full  power  to 
draw  warrants  for  said  money,  in  such  instalments  only  as  in  his 
opinion  the  progress  of  the  work  requires. 

Section  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  said  commissioners  be,  and  they  are  hereby  authorised  to 
sell,  or  otherwise  appropriate,  all  the  right,  title,  claim  and  interest  of 
the  commonwealth,  in  the  vacant  lots  yet  undisposed  of,  the  property 
of  the  commonwealth,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  unimproved  by  the 
state,  in  such  manner,  and  at  such  times,  as  to  them  may  appear  most 
eligible ;  and  the  money  arising  from  such  sales  is  hereby  appropriated, 
in  addition  to  the  sum  hereinbefore  granted,  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
erecting  the  Penitentiary  aforesaid  :  the  said  commissioners  to  account 
for  the  proceeds  of  such  sales  and  the  expenditure  thereof,  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  hereinbefore  provided  for  in  relation  to  the  moneys  to  be 
drawn  from  the  treasury :  Provided  always ,  That  if  the  title  to  any 
lot  sold  by  virtue  of  this  act,  shall  prove  to  be  defective,  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  construed  so  as  to  bind  the  state  to  pay  the 
value  of  the  same  or  make  reparation  for  any  damages  which  may 
arise  by  such  defective  title,  but  the  amount  of  money  received  from 
the  sale  of  such  lot  shall  be  refunded  by  the  said  commissioners  :  and 
the  better  to  enable  the  said  commissoners  to  carry  into  effect  the 
provisions  herein  contained,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  surveyor  general 
to  furnish  to  said  commissioners,  on  request  made,  free  of  charge  for 
office  fees  or  expenses,  all  information  in  his  possession,  or  from  the 
records  of  the  office,  which  they  may  need,  relative  to  the  vacant  lots, 
the  property  of  the  commonwealth,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  unim¬ 
proved  by  the  state,  yet  remaining  unsold. 

Section  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  like  proceedings  may  and  shall  be  had,  and  the  same  remedies 
used,  by  the  said  commissioners,  to  obtain  and  give  possession  of  the 


35 


lots  hereby  directed  to  be  sold  by  virtue  of  this  act,  as  are  provided 
and  given  to  the  wardens  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  by  the  thirteenth 
section  of  the  “Act  for  the  better  support  of  public  credit,”  &c., 
passed  the  tenth  day  of  April,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  in 
relation  to  vacant  lots  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  property  of  the 
commonwealth :  Provided ,  That  if  the  party  in  possession  shall  plead 
title  to  the  premises  under  any  office  right  from  this  commonwealth, 
and  produce  the  same,  the  justice  of  the  supreme  court  shall  proceed 
no  further  therein. 

Section  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  if  the  commissioners  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia  shall 
secure  to  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  commonwealth,  in  three 
equal  annual  instalments,  commencing  on  the  first  day  of  January,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-one,  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  then  and  in  that  case,  all  the  right,  title  and  interest  of  the 
commonwealth,  of,  in  and  to  the  new  prison,  situate  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  south  side  of  Mulberry  street  between  Broad 
street  and  Eighth  street  from  the  river  Schuylkill,  shall  be  vested  in 
the  said  commissioners  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia  and  their 
successors,  for  the  use  of  the  said  city  and  county,  and  the  said 
prison  shall  from  thenceforth  be  deemed,  taken  and  held  to  be  the 
prison  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  thereafter  used, 
and  subject  to  the  like  provisions  and  restrictions  as  are  now  or 
may  hereafter  be  prescribed  by  law,  for  the  prisons  of  the  respec¬ 
tive  counties  in  the  state :  Provided ,  however ,  That  the  appropria¬ 
tion  made  by  the  fourth  section  of  this  act,  shall  not  be  paid  or 
any  part  thereof,  until  the  commissioners  of  the  county  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  shall  have  secured  to  be  paid  as  aforesaid  the  said  sum  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

Section  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  if  the  said  commissioners  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia, 
shall  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  seventh  section  of  this  act,  then 
and  in  that  case,  the  right  of  sending  the  convicts  of  the  several  coun¬ 
ties  to  the  prison  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  reserved  by 
the  commonwealth  by  an  act  passed  on  the  second  day  of  April,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  three,  entitled  “An  act  to  direct  the  sale 
of  certain  unimproved  city  lots,  the  property  of  this  commonwealth,  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  appropriate  the  proceeds  thereof 
towards  the  erection  of  a  building,  for  the  purpose  of  more  completely 
carrying  into  effect  the  penal  laws  of  this  state,”  shall  from  and  after 
the  completion  of  the  State  Penitentiary  hereby  authorised  to  be  built, 
cease  and  determine. 


3^ 


Section  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  said  commissioners  shall  not  be  entitled  to  any  compensation 
for  their  services,  nor  shall  it  be  lawful  for  them,  or  either  of  them,  to 
be  concerned  as  principals,  agents,  or  otherwise,  in  any  contract  con¬ 
nected  with  the  building  of  the  said  Penitentiary,  or  derive  any  profit 
or  advantage  from  the  same,  but  they  are  authorised  to  employ  a  clerk* 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  care  of  the  books  and  papers,  and  per¬ 
form  such  other  duties  as  may  be  directed  by  them,  which  clerk  shall 
receive  for  his  services  such  compensation  as  the  commissioners  may 
direct,  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  payable  out  of 
the  moneys  placed  in  their  hands  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act. 

Section  10.  And  be  it  ficrther  e?iacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  so  much  of  “An  act  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  a  State  Peni¬ 
tentiary,  on  the  public  land  adjoining  the  town  of  Allegheny,  opposite 
Pittsburg,  in  the  county  of  Allegheny,  and  for  other  purposes,”  passed 
March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen,  as  provides  for  the  sale 
of  the  Philadelphia  prison  and  the  erection  of  a  Penitentiary,  and  so 
much  of  any  other  act  or  acts  as  are  hereby  altered  or  supplied,  be, 
and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed. 


REFORMED  PENAL  CODE. 


The  following  act  passed  April  23,  1829,  provides 
for  a  reform  in  the  penal  code,  and  also  the  rules  for  the 
administration  of  the  Penitentiary: 

A  FURTHER  SUPPLEMENT 

To  an  act,  entitled  “  An  Act  to  Reform  the  Penal  Laws  of  this  Commonwealth." 


Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met , 
and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  every  person 
who  shall  be  convicted  in  any  court  in  the  western  district,  of  any  of 
the  crimes  hereafter  mentioned,  committed  after  the  first  day  of  July 
next,  shall,  instead  of  the  Penitentiary  punishments  heretofore  pre¬ 
scribed,  be  sentenced  by  the  proper  court  to  suffer  punishment  by 
separate  or  solitary  confinement  at  labour ,  in  the  manner  and  for  the 
times  hereinafter  prescribed,  in  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  western 
district,  in  the  county  of  Allegheny,  and  for  that  purpose  to  be  removed 
to  the  State  Penitentiary  at  the  expense  of  the  State. 


37 


Section  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July  next,  every  person  who  shall 
be  convicted  in  any  court  in  the  eastern  district  of  any  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  crimes,  viz.,  murder  in  the  second  degree,  manslaughter,  high 
treason,  arson,  rape,  sodomy  or  buggery,  burglary,  forgery,  passing 
counterfeit  money,  robbery,  kidnapping,  mayhem,  horse  stealing  and 
perjury,  committed  after  the  first  day  of  July  next,  shall,  instead  of  the 
Penitentiary  punishments  heretofore  prescribed,  be  sentenced  by  the 
proper  court  to  suffer  punishment  by  separate  or  solitary  confinement  at 
labour  in  the  manner,  and  for  the  time  and  times  hereinafter  prescribed, 
in  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  eastern  district,  in  the  county  of 
Philadelphia,  and  for  that  purpose  to  be  removed  to  the  said  Peniten¬ 
tiary  at  the  expense  of  the  State. 

Section  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July  next,  all  and  every  person 
adjudged  to  suffer  separate  or  solitary  confinement  at  labour  in  the 
eastern  and  western  Penitentiaries,  shall  be  kept  singly  and  separately 
at  labour,  in  the  cells  or  work  yards  of  said  prisons,  and  be  sustained 
upon  wholesome  food  of  a  coarse  quality,  sufficient  for  the  healthful 
support  of  life,  and  be  furnished  with  clothing  suited  to  their  situa¬ 
tion,  at  the  discretion  of  the  inspectors  of  said  prisons ;  that  during 
the  confinement  of  such  prisoners  no  access  shall  be  had  to  them  by 
any  person  or  persons,  except  the  inspectors  and  officers  of  the  insti¬ 
tution  hereinafter  mentioned,  the  grand  juries  of  the  cities  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  and  Pittsburg,  and  the  counties  of  Allegheny  and  Philadelphia,* 
and  the  official  visitors  hereinafter  named,  and  such  other  persons  as 
may  be  permitted  for  highly  urgent  reasons,  by  any  rule  or  regulation 
of  the  board  of  inspectors. 

Section  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  instead  of  the  Penitentiary  punishment  heretofore  prescribed,  the 
punishment  by  solitary  confi7iement  at  labour ,  shall  be  inflicted  upon  the 
several  offenders  who  shall,  after  the  first  day  of  July  next,  commit 
and  be  legally  convicted  of  any  of  the  offences  hereinafter  enumerated 
and  specified,  that  is  to  say : 

MURDER. 

Every  person  convicted  of  murder  in  the  second  degree,  shall  be 
sentenced  to  undergo  imprisonment  in  one  of  the  State  Penitentiaries, 
as  the  case  may  be,  and  to  be  kept  in  separate  or  solitary  confinement 
at  labour  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less  than  four  nor  more 


*  Repealed. 


6 


38 


than  twelve  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for  the  period  of  his 
natural  life ;  and  be  fed,  clothed  and  treated,  as  is  provided  in  this  act. 

MANSLAUGHTER. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  voluntary  manslaughter,  shall  be 
sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement  at  labour,  for  the  first 
offence  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  six  years,  for  the 
second  offence,  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  six  nor  more  than  twelve 
years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  are  expressed  in  the  first  clause  of 
this  section,  and  to  give  security  on  conviction  either  for  the  first  or 
second  offence,  for  good  behaviour  during  life  or  for  any  less  time, 
according  to  the  nature  and  enormity  of  the  offence. 

HIGH  TREASON. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  the  crime  of  high  treason  shall  be 
sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement  at  labour,  for  the  first 
offence  for  a  period  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  six  years,  for 
the  second  offence  for  a  period  of  not  exceeding  ten  years,  under  the 
same  conditions  as  are  expressed  in  the  first  clause  of  this  section. 

ARSON. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  the  crime  of  maliciously  and 
voluntarily  burning  the  dwelling-house  or  any  other  house,  barn  or 
stable  adjoining  thereto,  or  any  barn  or  out-house  having  hay  or  grain 
therein,  although  the  same  shall  not  be  adjoining  to  such  dwelling- 
house,  or  of  having  wilfully  and  maliciously  set  fire  to  any  barrack, 
rick  or  stack  of  hay,  grain  or  bark,  with  intent  to  destroy  the  same, 
belonging  to  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  of  maliciously  and 
voluntarily  burning  any  of  the  public  buildings  in  the  city  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  or  the  public  buildings  at  Harrisburg,  or  of  any  of  the  cities 
or  counties  in  the  state,  or  any  church,  meeting-house,  or  other 
building  for  public  worship,  or  any  college,  academy,  school  house,  or 
library,  or  as  being  accessary  thereto,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a 
similar  confinement  at  labour,  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  nor 
more  than  ten  years  for  the  first  offence,  and  not  more  than  fifteen 
years  for  the  second  offence,  under  the  same  conditions  as  are  herein 
expressed  in  the  first  clause  of  this  section. 

RAPE. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  the  crime  of  rape,  or  as  being 
accessary  thereto  before  the  fact,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a 
similar  confinement  at  labour,  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less 


39 


than  two  nor  more  than  twelve  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for 
and  during  the  period  of  his  natural  life,  under  the  same  conditions 
as  hereinbefore  expressed. 

BURGLARY. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  burglary,  or  as  accessary  thereto 
before  the  fact,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement  at 
labour  and  under  the  conditions  hereinbefore  stated,  for  the  first  offence 
for  a  period  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  ten  years,  and  for  the 
second  offence  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  years. 

SODOMY  OR  BUGGERY. 

Every  person  duly  convicted  of  sodomy  or  buggery,  or  as  accessary 
thereto  before  the  fact,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confine¬ 
ment  at  labour,  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one 
nor  more  than  five  years,  and  for  the  second  offence,  not  exceeding  ten 
years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  are  hereinbefore  expressed. 

FORGERY. 

•  Every  person  duly  convicted  of  having  falsely  forged  and  coun¬ 
terfeited  any  gold  or  silver  coin,  which  now  is  or  hereafter  shall  be 
passing  or  in  circulation  within  this  state,  or  having  falsely  uttered, 
paid  or  tendered  in  payment  any  such  counterfeit  and  forged  coin, 
knowing  the  same  to  be  forged  and  counterfeit,  or  having  aided, 
abetted  or  commanded  the  perpetration  of  either  of  the  said  crimes,  or 
of  having  falsely  made,  forged  or  counterfeited,  or  caused  or  procured 
to  be  falsely  made,  forged  or  counterfeited,  or  of  having  willingly  aided 
or  assisted  in  falsely  making,  forging  or  counterfeiting  any  bill  or  note 
in  imitation  of,  or  purporting  to  be  a  bill  or  note  issued  by  order 
of  the  president,  directors  and  company  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  any  of  the  banks  within  this  commonwealth,  incorporated 
in  pursuance  of  any  act  or  acts  of  the  general  assembly,  or  by  any  or 
either  of  the  said  banks,  or  any  order  or  check  on  any  of  the  said 
banks  or  corporations,  or  any  cashier  of  either  of  the  said  banks,  or  of 
having  falsely  altered  or  caused  or  procured  to  be  falsely  altered,  or 
willingly  aided  or  assisted  in  falsely  altering  any  bill  or  note  issued  by 
any  or  either  of  the  said  banks,  or  by  order  of  the  president,  directors 
and  company  of  either  of  the  said  banks,  or  any  order  or  check  on 
any  of  the  said  banks  or  corporations  or  cashiers  of  either  or  any  of  the 
said  banks ;  or  of  having  passed,  uttered  or  published,  or  attempted  to 
pass,  utter  or  publish  as  true,  any  false,  forged  or  counterfeit  bill  or 
note,  purporting  to  be  a  bill  or  note  issued  by  any  or  either  of  the  said 
banks,  or  by  order  of  the  president,  directors  and  company  or  any  or 


40 


either  of  the  said  banks,  or  any  falsely  altered  order  or  check  on  any 
of  the  said  banks  or  corporations,  or  any  cashier  or  either  of  them, 
knowing  the  same  to  be  falsely  altered  with  intent  to  defraud  any  of 
the  said  banks,  or  any  other  body  politic  or  person  ;  or  of  having  sold, 
uttered  or  delivered,  or  caused  to  be  sold,  uttered  or  delivered,  any 
forged  or  counterfeit  note  or  bill  in  imitation,  or  purporting  to  be 
a  bill  or  note  issued  by  any  or  either  of  the  said  banks,  or  by  order  of 
the  president  and  directors  of  any  or  either  of  the  said  banks,  knowing 
the  same  to  be  false,  forged  and  counterfeited,  or  of  having  made  or 
engraved,  or  caused  or  procured  to  be  made  or  engraved,  or  of  having 
in  his  custody  or  possession  any  metallic  plate,  engraved  after  simili¬ 
tude  of  any  plate  from  which  any  notes  or  bills  issued  by  any  bank, 

* 

incorporated  in  pursuance  of  any  act  or  acts  of  assembly  of  this 
commonwealth,  shall  have  been  printed,  with  intent  to  use  such  plate, 
or  to  cause  or  suffer  the  same  to  be  used  in  forging  or  counterfeiting 
any  of  the  notes  or  bills  issued  by  the  said  banks,  or  any  or  either  of 
them,  or  of  having  in  his  custody  or  possession  any  blank  note  or 
notes,  bill  or  bills,  engraved  and  printed  after  the  similitude  of  any 
notes  or  bills  issued  by  either  of  the  said  banks,  with  intent  to  use 
such  blanks,  or  cause  or  suffer  the  same  to  be  used  in  forging  or 
counterfeiting  any  of  the  notes  or  bills  issued  by  the  said  banks,  or 
having  in  his  custody  or  possession  any  paper  adapted  to  the  making 
of  bank  notes  or  bills,  and  similar  to  the  paper  upon  which  any  notes 
or  bills  of  either  of  the  said  banks  shall  have  been  issued,  with  intent 
to  use  such  paper,  or  cause,  or  suffer  the  same  to  be  used  in  forging 
or  counterfeiting  any  of  the  notes  or  bills  issued  by  either  of  the  said 
banks;  or  of  having  forged,  defaced,  corrupted  or  embezzled  any 
charters,  gifts,  grants,  bonds,  bills,  wills,  conveyances  or  contracts,  or 
of  having  defaced  or  falsefied  any  enrolment,  registry  or  record  within 
this  state,  or  of  having  forged  any  entry  of  the  acknowledgment, 
certificate  or  endorsement,  whereby  the  freehold  or  inheritance  of  any 
person  or  persons  may  be  charged,  or  of  counterfeiting  the  hand  or 
seal  of  another,  with  intent  to  defraud,  or  the  privy  or  great  seal  of 
the  state,  or  the  seal  of  any  county  in  the  state,  shall  be  sentenced  to 
be  imprisoned  in  solitary  confinement  at  labour,  for  the  first  offence 
for  a  period  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  seven  years,  and  for 
the  second  offence  for  a  period  not  exceeding  ten  years,  under  the 
same  conditions  as  are  expressed  in  the  first  clause  of  this  section. 

ROBBERY. 

Every  person  convicted  of  robbery,  or  as  being  accessary  thereto 
before  the  fact,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement, 


4i 


for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than 
seven  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
twelve  years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  are  hereinbefore  expressed. 

MAYHEM. 

Every  person  convicted  of  mayhem,  his  or  her  aiders,  abettors,  or 
counsellors,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement  at 
labour,  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less  than  one  year  nor 
more  than  seven  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  not  exceeding  four¬ 
teen  years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  above  expressed. 

KIDNAPPING. 

Every  person  convicted  of  kidnapping,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
laws  of  this  commonwealth,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar 
confinement  at  labour,  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less  than 
five  nor  more  than  twelve  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for  a  period 
of  twenty-one  years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  are  hereinbefore 
expressed. 

HORSE  STEALING. 

Every  person  convicted  of  horse  stealing,  or  as  accessary  thereto 
before  the  fact,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement  at 
labour,  for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than 
four  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for  a  period  of  not  more  than 
seven  years,  under  the  same  conditions  as  hereinbefore  expressed. 

PERJURY. 

Every  person  convicted  of  perjury  or  subornation  of  perjury,  or  of 
wilfully  and  corruptly  making  a  false  oath  at  any  general  or  special 
election,  under  the  provisions  of  the  several  acts  regulating  the  general 
elections  within  this  commonwealth,  or  of  suborning  any  other  person 
to  make  such  false  oath  or  affirmation,  or  having  knowingly  published, 
uttered  or  made  use  of  any  forged  or  false  receipt  or  certificate,  with 
intent  to  impose  the  same  upon  or  to  deceive  any  judge  or  inspector 
at  any  election,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  a  similar  confinement, 
for  the  first  offence  for  a  period  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than 
five  years,  and  for  the  second  offence  for  a  period  not  exceeding  eight 
years,  and  be  treated  as  is  hereinbefore  provided  in  the  first  clause  of 
this  section. 

Section  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  every  other  felony  or  misdemeanor  or  offence  whatsoever,  not 
specially  provided  for  by  this  act,  may  and  shall  be  punished  as  here¬ 
tofore. 


42 


Section  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  all  definitions  and  descriptions  of  crimes,  all  fines,  forfeitures, 
penalties  and  incapacities,  the  restitution  of  property  or  the  payment 
of  the  value  thereof,  and  every  other  matter  not  particularly  mentioned 
in  this  act,  be  and  the  same  shall  remain  as  heretofore. 

Section  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  penitentiaries  aforesaid  shall  be  respectively  managed  by  a 
board  of  inspectors,  consisting  of  five  taxable  citizens  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  shall  be  appointed  as  follows :  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court 
of  the  state  shall  at  the  first  term  of  any  supreme  court,  which  shall  be 
held  in  any  of  the  districts  of  the  state  after  the  passage  of  this  act, 
appoint  five  taxable  citizens  residing  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  or  county 
of  Allegheny,  who  shall  be  inspectors  of  the  Western  State  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  to  serve  for  two  years ;  and  five  taxable  citizens  residing  in  the 
city  or  county  of  Philadelphia,  who  shall  be  inspectors  of  the  Eastern 
State  Penitentiary,  to  serve  for  two  years,  and  until  their  successors 
shall  be  appointed ;  and  in  case  of  any  vacancy  occasioned  by  death, 
resignation,  refusal  to  serve,  or  otherwise,  the  same  shall  be  supplied 
by  the  said  judges,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be. 


ftx  %  tf(4  jjhttiUttiiittg. 


Section  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  following  rules  and  regulations  for  the  better  ordering  and 
government  of  said  penitentiaries  shall  be  and  continue  in  force  until 
altered  by  the  legislature,  or  in  the  manner  hereinafter  stated. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Of  the  Inspectors  and  their  Duties. 

They  shall  at  their  first  meeting  and  annually  thereafter  appoint 

out  of  their  number  a  president,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  keep 

'  * 

regular  minutes  of  their  proceedings ;  they  shall  hold  stated  meetings 
once  a  month,  and  adjourned  and  special  meetings  whenever  necessary ; 
the  treasurer  shall  give  bond  with  sufficient  surety  in  such  amount  as 
the  inspectors  may  fix  and  determine,  and  shall  receive  and  disburse 
all  moneys  belonging  to  the  prison,  according  to  the  order  of  the 
board ;  they  shall  semi-annually  appoint  a  warden,  a  physician,  and 
clerk  for  the  institution,  and  shall  fix  their  salaries  as  well  as  those  of 
the  under-keepers  or  overseers,  and  the  persons  employed  about  the 


43 


prison ;  they  shall  serve  without  any  pecuniary  compensation,  and  shall 
be  exempted  from  military  duty,  from  serving  on  juries  and  arbitra¬ 
tions,  or  as  guardians  of  the  poor ;  they  shall  visit  the  Penitentiary  at 
least  twice  in  every  week,  to  see  that  the  duties  of  the  several  officers 
and  attendants  are  performed,  to  prevent  all  oppression,  peculation,  or 
other  abuse  or  mismanagement  of  the  said  institutions ;  they  shall  have 
power,  if  they  on  conference  find  it  necessary  to  make  such  rules  for  the 
internal  government  of  said  prison,  as  may  not  be  inconsistent  with  the 
principles  of  solitary  confinement  as  set  forth  and  declared  by  this  act. 

They  shall  attend  to  the  religious  instruction  of  the  prisoners  and 
procure  a  suitable  person  for  this  object,  who  shall  be  the  religious  in¬ 
structor  of  the  prisoners :  Provided ,  Their  services  shall  be  gratuitous. 

They  shall  direct  the  manner  in  which  all  raw  materials  to  be 
manufactured  by  the  convicts  in  said  prisons,  and  the  provisions  and 
other  supplies  for  the  prisons  shall  be  purchased,  and  also  the  sale  of  all 
articles  manufactured  in  said  prisons. 

They  shall  cause  accurate  accounts  to  be  kept  by  the  clerk,  of  all 
expenditures  and  receipts  in  the  Penitentiaries,  which  accounts  respec¬ 
tively  shall  be  annually  examined  and  settled  by  the  auditors  of  the 
county  of  Allegheny,  and  of  the  county  of  Philadelphia. 

They  shall  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January  in  every  year, 
make  a  report  in  writing  to  the  legislature,  of  the  state  of  the  Peniten¬ 
tiaries. 

The  report  shall  contain  the  number  of  prisoners  in  confinement, 
their  age,  sex,  place  of  nativity,  time  of  commitment,  term  of  impri¬ 
sonment  during  the  preceding  year,  noticing  also  those  who  have 
escaped  or  died,  or  who  were  pardoned  or  discharged,  designating  the 
offence  for  which  the  commitment  was  made,  and  whether  for  a  first 
or  repeated  offence,  and  when  and  in  what  court,  or  by  whose  order; 
and  in  such  return  the  inspectors  shall  make  such  observations  as  to 
the  efficiency  of  the  system  of  solitary  confinement  as  may  be  the  result 
of  their  experience,  and  give  such  information  as  they  may  deem  ex¬ 
pedient  for  making  the  said  institution  effectual  in  the  punishment  and 
reformation  of  offenders. 

They  shall  have  power  to  examine  any  person  upon  oath  or  affir¬ 
mation  relative  to  any  abuse  in  the  said  places  of  confinement,  or 
matter  within  the  purview  of  their  duties ;  they  shall  direct  in  what 
manner  the  rations  for  the  subsistence  of  the  prisoners  shall  be  com¬ 
posed,  in  conformity  with  the  general  directions  on  that  subject  here¬ 
inafter  contained. 

The  inspectors  in  their  weekly  visits  to  the  several  places  of  con¬ 
finement  shall  speak  to  each  person  confined  therein  out  of  the  pre- 


44 


sence  of  any  of  the  persons  employed  therein ;  shall  listen  to  any  com¬ 
plaints  that  may  be  made  of  oppression  or  ill  conduct  of  the  persons 
so  employed,  examine  into  the  truth  thereof,  and  proceed  therein  when 
the  complaint  is  well  founded ;  and  on  such  visits  they  shall  have  the 
calendar  of  the  prisoners  furnished  to  them  by  the  warden,  and  see  by 
actual  inspection  whether  all  the  prisoners  named  in  the  said  calendar 
are  found  in  the  said  prison,  in  the  situation  in  which  by  the  said 
calendar  they  are  declared  to  be. 

A  majority  of  the  said  inspectors  shall  constitute  a  board,  and 
may  do  any  of  the  acts  required  of  the  said  inspectors ;  two  of  the 
inspectors  shall  be  a  quorum  for  the  weekly  visitations  hereby  directed 
to  be  made. 

The  warden  shall  not,  nor  shall  any  inspector,  without  the 
direction  of  a  majority  of  the  inspectors,  sell  any  article  for  the  use 
of  the  said  Penitentiaries,  or  either  of  them,  or  of  the  persons  con¬ 
fined  therein  during  their  confinement,  nor  derive  any  emolument 
from  such  purchase  or  sale,  nor  shall  he,  or  they,  or  either  of  them, 
receive  under  any  pretence  whatever  from  either  of  the  said  prisoners, 
or  any  one  on  his  behalf,  any  sum  of  money,  emolument  or  reward 
whatever,  or  any  article  of  value,  as  a  gratuity  or  gift,  under  the 
penalty  of  five  hundred  dollars  fine,  to  be  recovered  in  the  name  of 
the  commonwealth,  by  an  action  of  debt,  in  any  court  of  record 
thereof,  having  jurisdiction  of  sums  of  that  amount. 

ARTICLE  II. 

Of  the  Duties  of  the  Warden. 

The  warden  shall  reside  in  the  Penitentiary ;  he  shall  visit  every 
cell  and  apartment,  and  see  every  prisoner  under  his  care  at  least  once 
in  every  day;  he  shall  keep  a  journal,  in  which  shall  be  regularly 
entered  the  reception,  discharge,  death,  pardon,  or  escape  of  any  pri¬ 
soner,  and  also  the  complaints  that  are  made,  and  the  punishments 
that  are  inflicted  for  the  breach  of  prison  discipline,  as  they  occur ;  the 
visits  of  the  inspector  and  the  physician,  and  all  other  occurrences  of 
note  that  concern  the  state  of  the  prison,  except  the  receipt  and 
expenditures,  the  account  of  which  is  to  be  kept  in  the  manner  here¬ 
inafter  directed. 

The  warden  shall  appoint  the  under-keepers,  who  shall  be  called 
overseers,  and  all  necessary  servants,  and  dismiss  them  whenever  he 
thinks  proper,  or  the  board  of  inspectors  direct  him  so  to  do. 

He  shall  report  all  infractions  of  the  rules  to  the  inspectors,  and 
with  the  approbation  of  one  of  them,  may  punish  the  offender,  in  such 


45 


manner  as  shall  be  directed  in  the  rules  to  be  enacted  by  the  inspec¬ 
tors,  concerning  the  treatment  of  prisoners. 

He  shall  not  absent  himself  from  the  Penitentiary  for  a  night 
without  permission  in  writing  from  two  of  the  inspectors. 

He  shall  not  be  present  when  the  inspectors  make  their  stated 
visits  to  the  prisoners  under  his  care,  unless  thereto  required  by  the 
inspectors. 


ARTICLE  III. 

Of  the  Duty  of  the  Overseers. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  overseers  to  inspect  the  condition  of 
each  prisoner  at  least  three  times  in  every  day,  to  see  that  his  meals 
.  are  regularly  delivered,  according  to  the  prison  allowance,  and  to 
superintend  the  work  of  the  prisoners. 

They  shall  give  immediate  notice  to  the  warden  or  physician 
whenever  any  convict  shall  complain  of  such  illness  as  to  require 
medical  aid. 

Each  overseer  shall  have  a  certain  number  of  prisoners  assigned 
to  his  care. 

He  shall  make  a  daily  report  to  the  warden  of  the  health  and 
conduct  of  the  prisoners,  and  a  like  report  to  the  inspectors  when 
required. 

No  overseer  shall  be  present  when  the  warden  or  the  inspectors 
visit  the  prisoners  under  his  particular  care,  unless  thereto  required  by 
the  warden  or  inspectors. 

The  overseers  shall  obey  all  legal  orders  given  by  the  warden,  and 
all  rules  established  by  the  board  of  inspectors,  for  the  government  of 
the  prison. 

All  orders  to  the  overseers  must  be  given  through  or  by  the 
warden. 

The  overseers  shall  not  be  absent  themselves  from  the  prison, 
without  permission  from  the  warden. 

No  overseer  shall  receive  from  any  one  confined  in  the  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  or  from  any  one  in  behalf  of  such  prisoner,  any  emolument  or 
reward  whatever,  or  the  promise  of  any,  either  for  services  or  supplies, 
or  as  a  gratuity,  under  the  penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars  and 
imprisonment  for  thirty  days  in  the  county  jail;  and  when  any 
breach  of  this  article  shall  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  warden 
or  inspectors,  the  overseer  or  overseers  so  offending  shall  be  imme¬ 
diately  discharged  from  his  office,  and  prosecuted  for  the  said  offence 
according  to  law. 


7 


46 


No  overseer  who  shall  have  been  discharged  for  any  offence  what¬ 
ever,  shall  again  be  employed. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Of  the  Duties  of  the  Physician. 

The  physician  shall  visit  every  prisoner  in  the  prison  twice  in 
every  week,  and  oftener,  if  the  state  of  their  health  require  it,  and 
shall  report  once  in  every  month  to  the  inspectors. 

He  shall  attend  immediately  on  notice  from  the  warden  that  any 
person  is  sick. 

He  shall  examine  every  prisoner  that  shall  be  brought  into  the 
Penitentiary,  before  he  shall  be  confined  in  his  cell. 

Whenever,  in  the  opinion  of  the  physician,  any  convict  in  the 
Penitentiary  is  so  ill  as  to  require  removal,  the  warden  shall  direct 
such  removal  to  the  infirmary  of  the  institution,  and  the  prisoner  shall 
be  kept  in  the  infirmary  until  the  physician  shall  certify  that  he  may 
be  removed  without  injury  to  his  health,  and  he  shall  then  be  removed 
to  his  cell. 

He  shall  visit  the  patients  in  the  infirmary  at  least  once  in  every 
day,  and  he  shall  give  such  directions  for  the  health  and  cleanliness 
of  the  prisoners,  and,  when  necessary,  as  to  the  alteration  of  their 
diet,  as  he  may  deem  expedient,  which  the  warden  shall  have  executed  : 
Provided ,  They  shall  not  be  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  law,  or 
inconsistent  with  the  safe  custody  of  the.  said  prisoners;  and  the 
directions  he  may  give,  whether  complied  with  or  not,  shall  be  entered 
on  the  journal  of  the  warden,  and  on  his  own. 

The  physician  shall  inquire  into  the  mental  as  well  as  the  bodily 
state  of  every  prisoner,  and  when  he  shall  have  reason  to  believe  that 
the  mind  or  body  is  materially  affected  by  the  discipline,  treatment, 
or  diet,  he  shall  inform  the  warden  thereof,  and  shall  enter  his  obser¬ 
vation  on  the  journal  hereinafter  directed  to  be  kept,  which  shall  be  an 
authority  for  the  warden  for  altering  the  discipline,  treatment,  or  diet 
of  any  prisoner,  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  inspectors,  who  shall 
inquire  into  the  case,  and  make  orders  accordingly. 

The  physician  shall  keep  a  journal,  in  which,  opposite  to  the  name 
of  each  prisoner,  shall  be  entered  the  state  of  his  health,  and  if  sick, 
whether  in  the  infirmary  or  not,  together  with  such  remarks  as  he  may 
deem  important,  which  journal  shall  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  the 
warden  and  the  inspectors,  and  the  same,  together  with  the  return 
provided  for  in  the  first  article  in  this  section,  shall  be  laid  before  the 
inspectors  once  in  every  month,  or  oftener  if  called  for. 


47 


* 


The  prisoners  under  the  care  of  the  physician,  shall  be  allowed 
such  diet  as  he  shall  direct. 

No  prisoner  shall  be  discharged  while  labouring  under  a  danger¬ 
ous  disease,  although  entitled  to  his  discharge,  unless  by  his  own 
desire. 

The  infirmary  shall  have  a  suitable  partition  between  every  bed, 
and  no  two  patients  shall  occupy  the  same  bed  ;  and  the  physician  and 
his  attendants  shall  take  every  precaution  in  their  power  to  prevent  all 
intercourse  between  the  convicts  while  in  the  infirmary. 

ARTICLE  V. 

Of  the  Treatment  of  the  Prisoners  in  the  Penitentiary. 

OF  THE  RECEPTION  OF  THE  CONVICTS. 

Every  convict  sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the  Penitentiary, 
shall,  immediately  after  the  sentence  shall  have  been  finally  pro- 
nouced,  be  conveyed,  by  the  sheriff  of  the  county  in  which  he  was 
condemned,  to  the  Penitentiary. 

On  the  arrival  of  a  convict,  immediate  notice  shall  be  given  to 
the  physician,  who  shall  examine  the  state  of  his  or  her  health ;  he  or 
she  shall  then  be  stripped  of  his  or  her  clothes,  and  clothed  in  the 
uniform  of  the  prison,  in  the  manner  hereinafter  provided,  being  first 
bathed  and  cleaned. 

He  or  she  shall  then  be  examined  by  the  clerk  and  the  warden, 
in  the  presence  of  as  many  of  the  overseers  as  can  conveniently  attend, 
in  order  to  their  becoming  acquainted  with  his  or  her  person  and 
countenance,  and  his  or  her  name,  height,  apparent  and  alleged  age, 
place  of  nativity,  trade,  complexion,  colour  of  hair  and  eyes,  and 
length  of  his  or  her  feet,  to  be  accurately  measured,  shall  be  entered  in 
a  book  provided  for  that  purpose,  together  with  such  other  natural  or 
accidental  marks,  or  peculiarity  of  feature  or  appearance,  as  may  serve 
,to  identify  him  or  her,  and  if  the  convict  can  write,  his  or  her  signa¬ 
ture  shall  be  written  under  the  said  description  of  his  or  her  person. 

All  the  effects  on  the  person  of  the  convict,  as  well  as  his  clothes, 
shall  be  taken  from  him  or  her,  and  specially  mentioned  and  preserved 
under  the  care  of  the  warden,  to  be  restored  to  him  or  her  on  his  or 
her  discharge. 

If  the  convict  is  not  in  such  ill  health  as  to  require  being  sent  to 
the  infirmary,  he  or  she  shall  then  be  conducted  to  the  cell  assigned  to 
him  or  her,  numerically  designated,  by  which  he  or  she  shall  thereafter 
be  known  during  his  or  her  confinement. 


48 


ARTICLE  VI. 

Of  the  Clothing  and  Diet  of  the  Convicts. 

The  uniform  of  the  prison  for  males  shall  be  a  jacket  and  trowsers 
of  cloth  or  other  warm  stuff  for  the  winter,  and  lighter  materials  for  the 
summer,  the  form  and  colour  shall  be  determined  by  the  inspectors, 
and  two  changes  of  linen  shall  be  furnished  to  each  prisoner  every 
week. 

No  prisoner  is  to  receive  any  thing  but  the  prison  allowance. 

No  tobacco  in  any  form  shall  be  used  by  the  convicts,  and  any  one 
who  shall  supply  them  with  it,  or  with  wine  or  spirituous  or  intoxicat¬ 
ing  fermented  liquor,  unless  by  order  of  the  physician,  shall  be  fined 
ten  dollars,  and  if  an  officer,  be  dismissed. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

Of  Visitors. 

No  person  who  is  not  an  official  visitor  of  the  prisons,  or  who  has 
not  a  written  permission  according  to  such  rules  as  the  inspector  may 
adopt  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  allowed  to  visit  the  same;  the  official  visitors 
are  the  Governor,  Speaker  and  members  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  and 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Secretary  of  the  Com¬ 
monwealth,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Attorney-General 
and  his  Deputies,  the  President  and  Associate  Judges  of  all  the  Courts 
in  the  State,  the  Mayor  and  Recorder  of  the  cities  of  Philadelphia, 
Lancaster  and  Pittsburg,  Commissioners  and  Sheriffs  of  the  several 
counties,  and  the  Acting  Committee  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for 
the  Alleviation  of  the  Miseries  of  Public  Prisons. 

None  but  the  official  visitors  can  have  any  communication  with 
the  convicts,  nor  shall  any  visitor  whatever  be  permitted  to  deliver  to 
or  receive  from. any  of  the  convicts,  any  letter  or  message  whatever,  or 
to  supply  them  with  any  article  of  any  kind  under  the  penalty  of  one 
hundred  dollars  fine,  to  be  recovered  as  hereinbefore  provided  for  other v 
fines  imposed  by  this  act. 

Any  visitor  who  shall  discover  any  abuse,  infraction  of  law,  or 
oppression,  shall  immediately  make  the  same  known  to  the  board  of 
inspectors  of  the  commonwealth,  if  the  inspectors  or  either  of  them  are 
implicated. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Of  the  Discharge  of  the  Convicts. 

Whenever  a  convict  shall  be  discharged  by  the  expiration  of  the 
term  for  which  he  or  she  was  condemned,  or  by  pardon,  he  or  she  shall 


49 


take  off  the  prison  uniform,  and  have  the  clothes  which  he  or  she 
brought  to  the  prison  restored  to  him  or  her,  together  with  the  other 
property,  if  any,  that  was  taken  from  him  or  her  on  his  or  her  com¬ 
mitment,  that  has  not  been  otherwise  disposed  of. 

When  a  prisoner  is  to  be  discharged,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
warden  to  obtain  from  him  or  her,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  his  or  her 
former  history;  what  means  of  literary,  moral  or  religious  instruction 
he  or  she  enjoyed ;  what  early  temptations  to  crime  by  wicked  associa¬ 
tions  or  otherwise  he  or  she  was  exposed  to;  his  or  her  general  habits, 
predominant  passions,  and  prevailing  vices,  and  in  what  part  of  the 
country  he  or  she  purposes  to  fix  his  or  her  residence ;  all  which  shall 
be  entered  by  the  clerk  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose,  together 
with  his  or  her  name,  age,  and  time  of  discharge. 

If  the  inspectors  and  warden  have  been  satisfied  with  the  morality, 
industry,  and  order  of  his  conduct,  they  shall  give  him  a  certificate  to 
that  effect,  and  shall  furnish  the  discharged  convict  with  four  dollars 
to  be  paid  by  the  state,  whereby  the  temptation  immediately  to  commit 
offences  against  society,  before  employment  can  be  obtained,  may  be 
obviated. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

Duties  of  the  Religious  Instructor. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  instructor  to  attend  to  the  moral  and 
religious  instruction  of  the  convicts,  in  such  manner  as  to  make  their 
confinement,  as  far  as  possible,  the  means  of  their  reformation,  so  that 
when  restored  to  their  liberty,  they  may  prove  honest,  industrious  and 
useful  members  of  society;  and  the  inspectors  and  officers  are  enjoined 
to  give  every  facility  to  the  Instructor,  in  such  measures  as  he  may 
think  necessary  to  produce  so  desirable  a  result,  not  inconsistent  with 
the  rules  and  discipline  of  the  prison. 

Section  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  expenses  of  maintaining*  and  keeping  the  convicts  in  the  said 
Eastern  and  Western  Penitentiaries,  shall  be  borne  by  the  respective 
counties  in  which  they  shall  be  convicted,  and  the  said  expense  shall 
be  paid  to  the  said  inspectors  by  orders,  to  be  drawn  by  them  on  the 
Treasurers  of  the  said  counties,  who  shall  accept  and  pay  the  same  : 
Pt'ovided ,  That  the  said  orders  shall  not  be  presented  to  the  said 
Treasurers  before  the  first  Monday  of  May  in  each  and  every  year  : 
And  provided ,  also ,  That  the  said  Inspectors  shall  annually,  on  or 
before  the  first  Monday  of  February,  transmit,  by  the  public  mail,  to 


*  Repealed — Act  of  1833. 


1 


50 


the  commissioners  of  such  of  the  counties  as  may  have  become  indebted 
for  convicts  confined  in  said  penitentiaries,  an  account  of  the  expense 
of  keeping  and  maintaining  said  convicts,  which  account  shall  be 
signed  by  the  said  Inspectors,  and  be  sworn  or  affirmed  to  by  them, 
and  attested  by  the  Clerk ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Com¬ 
missioners,  immediately  on  receipt  of  said  accounts,  to  give  notice  to 
the  Treasurers  of  their  respective  counties  of  the  amount  of  said 
accounts,  with  instructions  to  collect  and  retain  moneys  for  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  said  orders  when  presented ;  and  all  salaries  of  the  officers  of 
the  said  Penitentiaries  shall  be  paid  by  the  State,  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Inspectors  to  transmit  to  the  Auditor-General  the  names 
of  the  persons  by  them  appointed,  and  the  salaries  agreed  to  be  paid 
to  each  of  them  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  which  sums  shall  be 
paid  in  the  usual  manner,  by  warrants  drawn  by  the  Governor  upon 
the  Treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Section  io.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid \ 
That  the  several  Acts  of  Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  such 
parts  thereof,  so  far  as  the  same  are  altered  or  supplied  by  this  act, 
be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed,  from  and  after  the  first  day  of 
July  next :  Provided ,  That  the  repeal  thereof  shall  in  no  wise  affect 
any  indictment,  trial,  sentence  or  punishment  of  any  of  the  said 
herein-mentioned  crimes  or  offences  which  have  been  or  shall  be  com¬ 
mitted  before  this  act  shall  come  into  operation. 

Section  i  i  .  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  Governor  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorised  and  required  to 
issue  his  warrant  to  the  State  Treasurer,  in  favor  of  the  Inspectors  of 
the  Western  Penitentiary,  for  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
applied  by  said  Inspectors  to  such  alteration  of  the  interior  of  said 
Penitentiary,  as  in  their  opinion  will  best  adapt  the  same  to  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  this  act. 

Section  12.  And  be  itfw'ther  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That,  for  the  purpose  of  finishing  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  introducing 
a  supply  of  water  from  Fairmount  Water  Works,  and  procuring  the 
necessary  furniture  and  fixtures  for  the  accommodation  and  reception 
of  the  prisoners,  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  be  and  it  is  hereby 
appropriated  for  the  said  purposes,  and  the  Commissioners  appointed 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania,  are  directed  to  carry  the  same  into  effect, 
and  to  draw  the  sum  hereby  authorized  from  the  State  Treasury,  in 
the  same  manner  as  is  by  law  provided. 

Section  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  Board  of  Inspectors  of  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  who  shall 


» 


5i 


be  appointed  as  is  hereinbefore  provided,  be  and  they  hereby  are 
authorised  to  draw  from  the  State  Treasury,  upon  warrants  drawn  in 
the  usual  manner,  any  sums  of  money  which  shall  not  together  amount 
to  more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  to  enable  said  Inspectors  to  sup¬ 
port  and  employ  of  the  prisoners  who  may  be  committed  to  said  Peni¬ 
tentiary,  until  so  much  of  such  sums  of  money  as  may  become  payable 
by  the  several  counties  from  which  convicts  may  be  removed  to  said 
prison,  shall  be  received  by  said  Board  as  will  enable  them  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  said  prison  without  such  aid,  which  sum  so  advanced  by 
the  State,  shall  be  repaid  to  the  State  Treasury  by  the  said  board  as 
soon  as  the  funds  of  said  prison  will  enable  said  Board  to  make  such 
repayment. 

Under  the  foregoing  Act  the  Commissioners  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  discharge  the  duties  delegated  to  them,  as  will 
be  hereinafter  stated. 

The  building  having  been  commenced,  the  following 
Act  was  passed,  by  which  the  remaining  blocks  and  cells 
necessary  were  directed  to  be  constructed  by  the  Inspec¬ 
tors  of  the  Penitentiary. 


AN  ACT 


To  enlarge  the  Buildings  of  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District,  and  for  other  purposes. 


Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met, 
and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  sa?ne,  That  the  Inspectors 
of  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District  in  the  County  of 
Philadelphia  be  authorized  and  required,  and  they  hereby  are  autho¬ 
rized  and  required  to  construct  and  erect  within  the  outer  walls  of 
said  Penitentiary  upon  such  a  plan  as  they  may  deem  most  expedient, 
buildings  which  shall  contain  at  least  four  hundred  cells,  suitable  for 
the  confinement  of  convicted  criminals,  in  solitary  imprisonment,  at 
labor ;  and  to  enable  them  the  more  effectually  to  perform  the  duties 
now  enjoined,  all  the  rights,  powers  and  privileges  heretofore  given  to 
the  Commissioners  for  building  said  Penitentiary,  are  hereby  transferred 
to  and  vested  in  the  said  Inspectors :  Provided,  however,  That  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  divest  the  said  Board  of  Commissioners  of  any 
right  or  power  that  it  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  retain,  in  order  to 


52 


arrange  and  settle  any  of  their  former  engagements  and  transactions 
as  to  real  estate  or  otherwise,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  and 
directed,  after  the  final  settlement  of  their  accounts,  to  pay  over  any 
balance  that  may  remain  in  their  hands  to  the  Board  of  Inspectors  of 
the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary,  to  be  applied  to  the  erection  and 
furnishing  of  cells  hereby  directed  to  be  built. 

Section  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That,  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expense  of  erecting  said  build¬ 
ings,  the  County  Commissioners  of  the  county  of  Philadelphia  be, 
and  they  hereby  are  authorized  to  loan,  out  of  the  county  funds 
of  said  county,  to  the  aforesaid  Inspectors,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  in  such  sums  and  at  such  times  as  the  said  Inspectors 
may  require  the  same  for  the  purpose  aforesaid ;  for  the  amount  of 
which  said  sums  of  money  loaned,  as  aforesaid,  certificates  of  State 
stock,  in  proper  form,  shall  be  issued  to  the  County  Commissioners  of 
the  county  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  use  of  the  said  county ;  which  said 
stock  shall  be  transferable  in  the  same  manner  as  other  State  stock, 
and  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-four,  and  not  before,  shall  bear  an  interest  of  five  per 
cent,  per  annum,  payable  half-yearly,  and  be  redeemable  thirty  years 
after  the  passage  of  this  act ;  and  the  said  County  Commissioners  are 
hereby  authorized  to  raise  the  aforesaid  sum  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  by  loan,  in  any  mode  or  manner  in  which 
money  for  the  ordinary  purposes  and  expenses  of  said  county,  may  by 
law  be  raised  or  obtained. 

Section  3.  And  be  it  further  e7iacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  every  person  who  shall  be  convicted,  in  any  court  in  the  Eastern 
District  of  this  commonwealth,  of  any  crime  committed  after  the  first 
day  of  May  next,  whose  punishment,  under  the  present  existing  laws, 
would  be  imprisonment  in  the  gaol  and  Penitentiary  house  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  for  one  year,  or  any  term  exceeding  one  year,  shall  be  sen¬ 
tenced,  by  the  proper  court,  to  suffer  punishment  by  separate  or 
solitary  confinement  at  labour  in  the  State  Penitentiary  for  the 
Eastern  District,  for  such  times  respectively,  as  the  provisions  of  the 
aforesaid  laws  now  authorize  and  direct  such  convicted  criminals  to 
be  sentenced  to  be  confined  in  the  aforesaid  gaol  and  Penitentiary 
house  of  Philadelphia;  and  the  persons  so  sentenced  as  aforesaid, 
while  confined  in  the  said  State  Penitentiary,  shall  be  treated  in  all 
respects  in  the  manner  which  the  act  entitled  “A  further  supplement 
to  an  act  entitled  an  act  to  reform  the  Penal  Laws  of  this  Common¬ 
wealth,”  approved  the  twenty-third  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-nine,  directs  that  persons  convicted  under  the 


53 


provisions  thereof,  shall  be  treated  during  their  imprisonment  in  the 
said  State  Penitentiary. 

Section  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  every  person  who  shall  be  convicted,  in  any  court  in  the  Eastern 
District  of  this  Commonwealth,  of  any  crime  committed  after  the  first 
day  of  May  next,  whose  punishment,  under  the  present  existing  laws, 
would  be  imprisonment  in  the  gaol  and  Penitentiary  house  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  for  any  term  less  than  one  year,  shall  be  sentenced  by  the 
proper  court  to  receive  his  or  her  punishment  in  the  county  gaol  of 
the  proper  county. 

Section  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  criminals  sentenced  as  directed  in  and  by  the  third  section  of 
this  Act,  shall  be  removed  to  the  aforesaid  State  Penitentiary  at  the 
expense  of  the  proper  county ;  subject,  nevertheless,  to  be  detained 
and  confined  in  the  gaol  and  Penitentiary  house  of  Philadelphia,  until 
a  sufficient  number  of  cells  shall  be  finished  in  the  said  State  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  to  enable  the  Inspectors  thereof  conveniently  to  receive  the  said 
criminals. 

Section  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid , 
That  the  Inspectors  of  the  gaol  and  Penitentiary,  on  the  first  Monday 
in  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-three,  or  as  soon 
thereafter  as  conveniently  may  be,  shall  remove  all  the  convicted 
criminals  who  may  then  remain  in  the  said  gaol  and  Penitentiary,  to 
the  aforesaid  State  Penitentiary  for  the  Eastern  District,  there  to  be 
imprisoned,  kept  and  punished,  according  to  law  and  their  several 
sentences,  until  duly  discharged :  Provided ,  The  said  State  Peniten¬ 
tiary  shall  be  prepared  for  the  reception  of  said  prisoners,  as  herein¬ 
before  provided  for. — Approved  March  28,  1831. 

EXTRACTS  OF  MINUTES  OF  COMMISSIONERS  TO  BUILD  PENITEN¬ 
TIARY  AT  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  Commissioners  organized  April  6,  1821,  and 
proceeded  to  the  performance  of  the  duties  assigned 
them.  Two  of  the  persons  named  in  the  act  declined  to 
serve,  and  the  Governor,  by  a  commission  under  the  seal 
of  the  Commonwealth,  filled  the  vacancies,  and  on  the 
1 2th  day  of  December,  1821,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Com¬ 
missioners,  Roberts  Vaux  took  his  seat  in  the  place  of 


8 


54 


Thomas  Wistar,  and  Coleman  Sellers  in  the  place  of 
Samuel  P.  Griffitts,  both  of  whom  declined  acting. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  commissioners  for  the  erection 
of  a  State  Penitentiary,  held  at  the  Prison  of  the  City  and 

• 

County  of  Philadelphia,  April  6,  1821.  Present — Peter 
Miercken,  John  Bacon,  George  A.  Baker,  Samuel  R. 
Wood,  Daniel  H.  Miller,  James  Thackara,  Caleb  Car- 
mault,  Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.  and  Thomas  Sparks. 

Thomas  Wistar  and  Dr.  S.  P.  Griffitts  absent ;  James 
Thackara  was  appointed  Chairman,  and  Thomas  Brad¬ 
ford,  Jr.,  Secretary. 

At  a  meeting  held  June  1,  1821,  the  committee 
appointed  to  report  as  to  the  selection  of  a  clerk, 
reported  that  “Nicholas  Tillinghast  would  serve  as  clerk 
for  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  for  each  and  every  meeting 
of  the  Board.” 

At  the  meeting  of  the  commissioners  held  June  22, 
1821,  they  regularly  organized  by  electing  Peter  Miercken, 
President;  John  Bacon,  Treasurer,  and  Samuel  R.  Wood, 
Secretary. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  held  July  3,  1821,  the 
committee  appointed  to  select  a  site  for  the  Penitentiary, 
reported  that  B.  &  J.  Warner  had  refused  $11,000  for 
their  property, — the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Peni¬ 
tentiary — but  had  agreed  to  sell  for  $11,500,  provided 
the  Board  would  relinquish  any  claim  to  the  following 
property  on  the  premises,  viz. :  Trees,  shrubbery  and 
fences ;  two  small  hay  houses  or  stables  and  the  hay 
barrack  ;  the  mantle  and  fire  places  in  the  mansion  house  ; 
the  copper  boiler  and  stone  troughs  in  the  milk  house, 
and  the  crops  in  the  ground.  The  Board  authorized  the 


55 


committee  to  accept  the  proposition  and  conclude  the 
contract,  if  possession  was  given  immediately.  The  Board 
proceeded  to  open  the  plans  for  the  Penitentiary,  in  pur¬ 
suance  of  the  resolution  of  the  Board  of  May  i,  1821. 
The  architects  who  submitted  plans  were  as  follows : 
Charles  Loss,  Jr.,  of  New  York  ;  William  Strickland,  John 
Haviland  and  Samuel  Webb,  of  Philadelphia.  The  plan 
submitted  by  John  Haviland  was  selected. 

At  a  meeting  held  September  25,  1821,  the  President 
nominated  the  following  members  as  the  Building  Com¬ 
mittee,  viz. :  Messrs.  Bacon,  Wood,  Miller,  Baker  and 
Sparks. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  October  16,  1821,  a 
communication  from  the  Board  was  addressed  to  His 
Excellency,  Joseph  Hiester,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
reporting  on  the  action  of  the  Board  since  its  organiza¬ 
tion  ;  and  that  the  commissioners  had  purchased  of  B.  & 
J.  Warner  their  property  on  Francis’  Lane. 

The  whole  plot  purchased  for  the  site  was  ten  acres 
and  nineteen  perches.* 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  October  30,  1821, 
communications  resigning  their  positions  were  received, 
from  Thomas  Wistar  and  Dr.  Samuel  Powell  Griffitts, 
read,  and  laid  on  the  table. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  December  12,  1821, 
Roberts  Vaux  and  Coleman  Sellers  attended  with  a  com¬ 
mission  from  the  Governor,  Joseph  Hiester,  appointing 
them  commissioners  in  the  places  of  Thomas  Wistar  and 
Dr.  S.  P.  Griffitts,  resigned. 

*  The  name  “  Cherry  Hill,”  sometimes  given  to  the  Penitentiary,  was  taken  from  the  number 
of  fine  cherry  trees  which  grew  on  the  “  hill  ”  of  the  farm  purchased  of  the  Messrs.  Warner. 


56 


The  remaining  minutes  contain  only  the  proceed¬ 
ings  of  the  commissioners. 

The  last  minute  of  the  Board  is  of  its  meeting  held 
March  29,  1825.  The  records  of  the  subsequent  meet¬ 
ings  have  been  mislaid,  and  not  yet  found. 

As  many  of  these  meetings  of  the  commissioners 
were  held  at  the  old  Walnut  Street  Prison,  the  minutes 
may  have  been  lost  in  removing  from  that  prison  before 
it  was  demolished. 

•  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PENITENTIARY, 

BY  GEORGE  W.  SMITH,  1 823. 

The  Eastern  State  Penitentiary  is  situated  on  one  of  the  most 
elevated,  airy,  and  healthy  sites  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  Large 
sums  have  been  expended  for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  unusual  degree 
of  solidity  and  durability  to  every  part  of  this  immense  structure, 
which  is  the  most  extensive  building  in  the  United  States.  The  ground 
occupied  by  it,  contains  about  io  acres.  The  material  with  which  the 
edifices  are  built,  is  a  greyish  granite,  or  gneiss,  employed  in  large 
masses;  every  room  is  vaulted  and  fire-proof. — The  design  and  execu¬ 
tion  impart  a  grave,  severe,  and  awful  character  to  the  external  aspect  of 
this  building.  The  effect  which  it  produces  on  the  imagination  of  every 
passing  spectator,  is  peculiarly  impressive,  solemn,  and  instructive. 
The  architecture  is  in  keeping  with  the  design.  The  broad  masses, 
the  small  and  well  proportioned  apertures,  the  continuity  of  lines,  and 
the  bold  and  expressive  simplicity  which  characterize  the  features  of 
the  facade,  are  most  happily  and  judiciously  combined.  The  origi¬ 
nality  of  the  plan,  the  excellent  arrangement  and  execution  of  the 
details,  display  the  taste  and  ingenuity  of  the  architect,  to  whom  our 
country  is  indebted  for  some  of  her  noblest  edifices — our  fellow  citizen, 
Mr.  John  Haviland. 

This  Penitentiary  is  the  only  edifice  in  this  country  which  is  cal¬ 
culated  to  convey  to  our  citizens  the  external  appearance  of  those 
magnificent  and  picturesque  castles  of  the  middle  ages,  which  contribute 
so  eminently  to  embellish  the  scenery  of  Europe. 

A  reference  to  the  accompanying  view  and  plan  will  render  only 
a  brief  description  necessary.  The  front  of  this  building  is  composed 
of  large  blocks  of  hewn  and  squared  granite;  the  walls  are  12  feet 


57 


thick  at  the  base,  and  diminish  to  the  top,  where  they  are  2^  feet  in 
thickness.  A  wall  of  thirty  feet  in  height  above  the  interior  platform, 
encloses  an  area  640  feet  square :  at  each  angle  of  the  wall  is  a  tower 
for  the  purpose  of  overlooking  the  establishment ;  three  other  towers, 
which  will  be  presently  described  are  situated  near  the  gate  of  entrance. 
The  facade  or  principal  front,  which  is  represented  in  the  accompany¬ 
ing  view,  is  670  feet  in  length,  and  reposes  on  a  terrace,  which,  from 
the  inequalities  of  the  ground,  varies  from  3  to  9  feet  in  height ;  the 
basement  or  belting  course,  which  is  10  feet  high,  is  scarped,  and  ex¬ 
tends  uniformly  the  whole  length.  The  central  building  is  200  feet  in 
length,  consists  of  two  projecting  massive  square  towers  50  feet  high, 
crowned  by  projecting  embattled  parapets,  supported  by  pointed  arches 
resting  on  corbels  or  brackets.  The  pointed  mullioned  windows  in 
these  towers  contribute  in  a  high  degree  to  their  picturesque  effect. 
The  curtain  between  the  towers  is  41  feet  high,  and  is  finished  with  a 
parapet  and  embrasures.  The  pointed  windows  in  it  are  very  lofty  and 
narrow.  The  great  gateway  in  the  centre  is  a  very  conspicuous  feature ; 
it  is  27  feet  high,  and  15  wide,  and  is  filled  by  a  massive  wrought  iron 
portcullis,  and  double  oaken  gates  studded  with  projecting  iron  rivets, 
the  whole  weighing  several  tons  ;  nevertheless  they  can  be  opened  with 
the  greatest  facility.  On  each  side  of  this  entrance,  (which  is  the 
most  imposing  in  the  United  States,)  are  enormous  solid  buttresses 
diminishing  in  offsets,  and  terminating  in  pinnacles.  A  lofty  octangular 
tower,  80  feet  high,  containing  an  alarm  bell  and  clock,  surmounts 
this  entrance,  and  forms  a  picturesque  proportional  centre.  On  each 
side  of  this  main  building  (which  contains  the  apartments  of  the  war¬ 
den,  keepers,  domestics,  &c.,)  are  screen  wing  walls,  which  appear  to 
constitute  portions  of  the  main  edifice ;  they  are  pierced  with  small 
blank  pointed  windows,  and  are  surmounted  by  a  parapet ;  at  their  ex¬ 
tremities  are  high  octangular  towers  terminating  in  parapets  pierced  by 
embrasures.  In  the  centre  of  the  great  court  yard  is  an  observatory, 
whence  long  corridors,  8  in  number,  radiate  :  (three  only  of  these 
corridors,  &c.,  are  at  present  finished.)  On  each  side  of  these  corridors, 
the  cells  are  situated,  each  at  right  angles  to  them,  and  communicating 
with  them  only  by  small  openings  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the 
prisoner  with  food,  &c.,  and  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  his  move¬ 
ments  without  attracting  his  attention ;  other  apertures,  for  the 
admission  of  cool  or  heated  air,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation,  are 
provided. 

Among  the  advocates  of  this  system  in  Europe,  we  may  refer  to 
Howard,  Paul,  Eden,  Mansfield,  Blackstone,  Paley,  Liancourt,  Villerme, 
&c.,  and  in  this  country,  to  the  venerable  Bishop  White,  whose  whole 
life  has  been  but  one  prolonged  illustration  of  that  religion  which  he 


53 


professes,  Dr.  Rush,  Bradford,  Vaux,  Wood,  Sergeant,  Livingston, 
and  many  of  our  most  eminent  citizens.  The  intrinsic  and  obvious 
excellence  of  the  plan  afforded  a  powerful  argument  for  its  adoption  up¬ 
wards  of  40  years  since.  The  partial  experience  of  its  merits  has  been 
beneficially  experienced  in  our  State  and  other  parts  of  the  Union 
notwithstanding  the  numerous  disadvantages  which  have  heretofore 
attended  the  trial.  The  only  failures  which  have  occurred  in  other 
States,  are  unquestionably  attributable  to  the  absurd  and  culpable  man¬ 
ner  in  which  the  process  has  sometimes  been  conducted.  The  experience 
of  several  of  the  European  states,  as  well  as  of  our  own  commonwealth, 
incontestably  proves  that  this  system  of  Prison  discipline  is  the  most 
efficient  which  the  wisdom  of  philanthropists  has  heretofore  devised  ; 
that,  when  administered  in  a  proper  manner,  the  reformation  of  the 
great  majority  of  criminals  is  practicable  ;  that  no  injury  to  the  health, 
mental  or  bodily,  of  the  convicts,  occurs  ;  that  the  severity  is  sufficient, 
not  only  to  operate  on  the  inmates  of  the  prison,  but  to  deter  others 
by  the  example  of  their  sufferings ;  and  finally,  that  as  a  means  of  pre¬ 
venting  crimes,  it  is  in  fact  the  most  economical.  A  superficial  view 
of  this  subject  has  too  frequently  led  to  erroneous  conclusions  in  some 
of  our  sister  States. 

As  “the  Pennsylvania  system  of  Prison  Discipline”  effects,  not  in¬ 
deed  the  extirpation,  but  the  prevention  and  diminution  of  crime,  to 
an  unknown  and  unrivalled  extent — the  dictates  of  mere  economy, 
of  sordid  self-interest,  as  well  as  of  patriotism,  humanity,  and  general 
religion,  cry  aloud  for  its  general  adoption.  The  prime  cost  of  an 
efficient  labour  saving  machine  is  never  considered  by  the  intelligent 
and  wealthy  capitalist  as  a  wasteful  expenditure,  but  as  a  productive  in¬ 
vestment.  This  Penitentiary  will  be,  strictly  speaking,  an  apparatus 
for  the  expeditious,  certain,  and  economical  eradication  of  vice,  and 
the  production  of  reformation.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  exhibited 
at  once,  her  wisdom,  philanthropy,  and  munificence,  by  the  erection 
of  this  immense  and  expensive  structure,  which,  in  connection  with 
her  other  noble  institutions,  will  largely  contribute  to  the  amelioration 
and  protection  of  her  population. 

The  Corner  Stone  of  the  front  building  of  the  Penitentiary  was 
laid  on  the  2  2d  day  of  May,  1823,  in  the  presence  of  the  Commissioners, 
Architect,  Superintendent,  and  workmen.  On  this  interesting  occa¬ 
sion,  Mr.  Roberts  Vaux  said,  that  he  much  regretted  the  unavoidable 
absence  of  the  President  of  the  Board,  in  whose  place  he  had  just  then 
been  unexpectedly  desired  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  purpose 
for  which  the  Commissioners  were  assembled. 

He  remarked  that  the  occasion  was  calculated  to  awaken  reflec¬ 
tions  at  once  painful  and  gratifying.  Painful ,  because  such  was  the 


59 


erring  character  of  man,  so  ungovernable  were  his  passions,  and  so 
numerous  his  propensities  to  evil,  that  it  was  necessary  society  should 
provide  means  for  the  punishment  of  offenders  against  its  laws.  Grati¬ 
fying,  because  a  correct  view  of  human  nature,  coupled  with  the  indis¬ 
pensable  exercise  of  Christian  benevolence,  had  led  to  the  meliora¬ 
tion  of  punishments.  Justice ,  was  now  mixed  with  Mercy ,  and  whilst 
the  community  designed  to  teach  offenders  that  the  way  of  the  trans¬ 
gressor  is  hard,  it  wisely  and  compassionately  sought  to  secure  and 
reform  the  criminal  by  the  most  strict  solitary  confinement.  The 
Penitentiary  now  to  be  erected,  was  designed  to  accomplish  these  im¬ 
portant  ends,  and  when  it  shall  be  completed,  it  will  afford  the  first 
opportunity  of  putting  into  efficient  practice  the  penal  code  of  this 
State.  Mr.  Yaux  congratulated  his  fellow  citizens  of  Pennsylvania, 
because  their  legislators  were  the  first  (almost  forty  years  ago)  to  abolish 
those  cruel  and  vindictive  penalties  which  are  in  use  in  the  European 
countries  from  which  we  had  descended.  The  Pillory,  the  Whipping 
Post,  and  the  Chain,  were  not  calculated  to  prevent  crime,  but  to 
familiarize  the  mind  with  cruelty,  and  consequently  to  harden  the 
hearts  of  those  who  suffered,  and  those  who  witnessed  such  punish¬ 
ments.  The  substitution  in  Pennsylvania  of  milder  correctives  had 
excited  the  notice  and  respect  of  nations  abroad,  as  well  as  of  our 
sister  States — our  example  had  in  some  instances  been  followed,  and  he 
had  no  doubt  the  principle  would  more  extensively  prevail. 

The  box  deposited  in  the  corner  stone,  which  you  have  seen  laid, 
contains  a  plan  and  elevation  of  the  prison,  and  a  metal  plate  bearing 
the  following  inscription : 

PENITENTIARY 

For  the  Eastern  District  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

FOUNDED, 

AGREEABLY  TO  AN  ACT  OF  ASSEMBLY 

Passed  on  the  20th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-one. 

JOSEPH  HIESTER,  ANDREW  GREGG, 

Governor.  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  following  named  gentlemen  : 

COMMISSIONERS.  f 

Thomas  Sparkes,  Samuel  R.  Wood,  Daniel  H.  Miller,  Caleb  Carmalt, 

John  Bacon,  Coleman  Sellers,  William  Davidson,  Geo.  N.  Baker. 

Roberts  Vaux,  James  Thackara,  Thomas  Bradford,  Jr. 

John  Haviland,  Jacob  Souder, 

Architect.  Superhitendent  of  Masonry . 


6o 


It  only  remains  for  us,  said  Mr.  Vaux  in  conclusion,  to  express 
our  ardent  desire,  that  this  institution  may  fully  answer  the  important 
purposes  for  which  it  was  founded. 

THOMAS  m’ELWEE’s  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PENITENTIARY,  1 835. 

( Report  to  the  Legislature .) 

The  Walnut  Street  Prison  was  commenced  in  1773,  finished  in 
1774.  It  contained  16  cells  for  solitary  confinement — they  were  only 
used  in  emergency.  The  evils  of  permitting  convicts  to  work  and  lodge 
in  companies,  with  unrestrained  intercourse  with  each  other,  were 
manifested  at  an  early  day  to  the  discerning  and  the  philanthropist. 

In  1801  a  memorial  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  by  the 
“  Philadelphia  Society  for  Alleviating  the  Miseries  of  Public  Prisons,” 
dated,  Philadelphia,  12  mo.,  1801,  signed  Wm.  White,  President,  re¬ 
questing  the  Legislature  to  devise  means  “to  separate  the  convicts  from 
all  other  descriptions  of  prisoners ;”  and  two  years  afterwards,  the  same 
Society  requested  the  Legislature  “to  adopt  the  mode  of  punishing 
criminals  by  solitary  confinement  at  hard  labour.  ”  In  1 8 1 8,  the  Society 
presented  another  petition,  in  which  they  request  the  Legislature  “to 
consider  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  erecting  penitentiaries  in 
suitable  parts  of  the  State,  for  the  more  effectual  employment  and  sepa¬ 
ration  of  the  prisoners,  and  of  proving  the  efficacy  of  solitude  on  the 
morals  of  those  unhappy  objects. 

The  chief  object  of  the  Society  appears  to  be,  to  lessen  the  com¬ 
mission  of  crime,  by  inflicting  the  punishment  of  privation,  solitude 
and  labour  for  a  certain  time  for  a  specified  offence,  not  as  a  mere 
matter  of  restraint,  but  strictly  as  a  punishment. 

In  1821,  another  memorial  was  laid  before  the  Legislature,  signed 
by  Wm.  White,  Roberts  Yaux,  and  other  eminent  men,  who  have  la¬ 
boured  unceasingly  to  promote  the  happiness  of  their  fellow  beings. 
This  petition  was  successful.  The  Legislature,  by  act  of  March  20, 
1821,  authorized  the  construction  of  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  on  the 
principle  of  “separate  and  solitary  confinement  at  labour,”  with  an 
appropriation  of  $100,000,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  certain  lots 
of  ground,  situate  in  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia ;  and  the 
interest  of  the  Commonwealth  in  the  Arch  Street  Prison  was  vested  in 
the  Commissioners,  on  condition  of  securing  to  the  State  the  payment 
of  $50,000  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  that  building  and  the  lots 
on  which  it  is  situated. 

A  lot  containing  13  acres  situate  on  Cherry  Hill,  two  miles  N.  W. 
of  the  Court  House,  was  purchased  and  appropriated  for  this  important 
purpose. 


6i 


The  corner  stone  of  the  front  building  was  laid  on  the  2  2d  day 
of  May,  1823,  in  the  presence  of  the  Commissioners,  Architect, 
Superintendent,  and  workmen ;  Roberts  Vaux  presiding  over  the 
ceremonies. 

A  box  was  deposited  in  the  corner  stone,  containing  a  plan  and 
elevation  of  the  prison,  and  a  metal  plate  bearing  the  following 
inscription:  [See  the  copy  of  inscription  printed  on  page  59.] 

Thus  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  of 
Pennsylvania. 

The  Eastern  State  Penitentiary  is  situated  on  one  of  the  most 
elevated,  airy,  and  healthy  sites  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  Large 
sums  have  been  expended  for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  unusual  degree 
of  solidity  and  durability  to  every  part  of  this  immense  structure, 
which  is  the  most  extensive  building  in  the  United  States.  The 
ground  occupied  by  it  contains  about  ten  acres.  The  material 
with  which  the  edifices  are  built,  is  a  greyish  granite  or  gneiss, 
employed  in  large  masses;  every  room  is  vaulted  and  fire  proof. 
The  design  and  execution  impart  a  grave,  severe,  and  awful  char¬ 
acter  to  the  external  aspect  of  this  building.  The  effect  which  it 
produces  on  the  imagination  of  every  passing  spectator,  is  pecu¬ 
liarly  impressive,  solemn,  and  instructive.  The  architecture  is  in 
keeping  with  the  design.  The  broad  masses,  the  small  and  well 
proportioned  apertures,  the  continuity  of  lines,  and  the  bold  and 
expressive  simplicity  which  characterize  the  features  of  the  facade, 
are  most  happily  and  judiciously  combined.  The  originality  of  the 
plan,  the  excellent  arrangement  and  execution  of  the  details,  display 
the  taste  and  ingenuity  of  the  architect,  who  has  planned  some  of  the 

noblest  edifices  of  our  country. 

«)/  *)/  »1/  •!/ 

/{»  /Jx  /Jh  »f»  ^  'J'  'j* 

In  the  centre  of  the  great  court-yard  is  an  observatory,  whence 
long  corridors,  seven  in  number,  radiate.  On  each  side  of  those 
corridors,  the  cells  are  situated,  each  at  right  angles  to  them,  and 
communicating  with  them  only  by  small  openings,  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  the  prisoner  with  food,  and  inspecting  his  movements 
without  attracting  his  attention ;  other  apertures  for  the  admission  of 
cool  or  heated  air,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation,  are  provided. 
The  privy  pipes  carry  off  the  impurities  of  the  cell  to  a  common-sewer. 
Originally  there  was  a  defect  in  the  construction  of  those  pipes,  which 
admitted  communication  between  the  prisoners,  endangering  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  the  institution.  This  defect  is  I  understand  removed.  The 
cells  are  warmed  by  heated  air,  conducted  by  flues  through  the  whole 
range.  Light  is  admitted  by  a  large  circular  glass  in  the  crown  of  the 


9 


62 


arch,  which  is  raking,  and  the  highest  part  sixteen  feet  six  inches  above 
the  floor,  which  is  of  wood,  overlaying  a  solid  foundation  of  stone. 
The  walls  are  plastered  and  white  washed  ;  the  cells  are  eleven  feet 
nine  inches  long,  and  seven  feet  six  inches  wide.  At  the  extremity 
of  the  cell,  opposite  to  the  apertures  for  inspection,  &c.,  previously 
mentioned,  is  the  doorway  containing  two  doors ;  one  a  lattice  work 
or  iron  grating,  to  admit  the  air,  and  secure  the  prisoner ;  the  other 
composed  of  planks  to  exclude  the  air  if  required.  This  door 
leads  to  a  yard  attached  to  each  cell  on  the  ground  floor,  eighteen 
feet  by  eight,  the  walls  of  which  are  eleven  and  a  half  feet  high. 
In  the  second  story  each  prisoner  is  allowed  an  additional  cell  or 
bed-room.  Each  cell  is  furnished  with  a  bedstead,  clothes  rail,  seat, 
shelf,  tin  cup,  wash  basin,  victuals  pan,  looking  glass,  combs,  scrub¬ 
bing  brush  and  sweeping  brush,  straw  mattrass,  and  one  sheet,  one 
blanket  and  one  coverlet. 

The  bedstead  or  bunk  is  so  constructed  that  the  prisoner  can  rear 
it  against  the  wall  and  fasten  it  with  a  staple,  which  gives  him  more 
room  in  the  cell.  Each  cell  is  provided  with  water  by  means  of  a  stop¬ 
cock.  The  bedstead  now  in  use  is  constructed  of  wood.  The  iron 
bedstead  and  hammock  were  found  inexpedient.  There  were  three 
hundred  and  eleven  cells  completed  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1835 ; 
all  the  rest  are  nearly  fitted  for  the  reception  of  prisoners.  The  edifice 
is  calculated  to  contain  in  all  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  convicts. 
The  three  blocks  first  constructed  are  one  story;  the  other  four  are  two 
stories  each. 

The  close  approximation  of  the  level  of  the  edifice  to  the  surface 
of  the  public  reservoirs  at  Fairmount,  has  produced  some  difficulty  in 
obtaining  an  ample  supply  of  water.  That  difficulty  has  been  removed 
by  the  following  contrivance.  A  well  of  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and 
about  twenty-five  feet  in  depth  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  is  duly 
and  securely  walled  up  and  arched  over  with  bricks ;  contiguous  to 
this  well  a  building  of  substantial  masonry  has  been  erected  of  forty 
feet  by  thirty-four  feet ;  an  arched  basement  contains  the  furnaces  and 
boilers  over  which  is  placed  a  steam  engine  of  six  horse  power,  by 
means  of  which  the  water  will  be  drawn  from  the  large  well,  and 
forced  into  a  reservoir,  erected  also  of  substantial  masonry,  north  of 
and  adjoining  the  last  mentioned  building.  This  reservoir  is  about 
forty  feet  in  diameter  and  ten  in  height  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  contains  about  seventy-six  thousand  six  hundred  gallons 
of  water  supplied  by  the  Fairmount  Water  Works.  From  this  reservoir 
the  lower  stories  of  the  cell  buildings  and  the  privy  pipes  belonging 
thereto  receive  their  supply  of  water. 


# 


63 


% 


Over  this  reservoir  is  an  apartment  sufficiently  capacious  to 
contain  nine  large  cedar  tanks  or  cisterns,  filled  with  water  from  the 
large  well  by  the  power  of  the  engine.  From  these  tanks  the  second 
stories- of  cells  and  privy  pipes  will  receive  their  supply  of  water. 
This  contrivance,  which  is  very  excellent,  will  furnish  an  ample  supply 
of  water  to  the  whole  establishment. 

An  apothecary’s  shop  is  kept  within  the  walls,  under  the  super¬ 
intendence  of  the  Physician.  One  apartment  is  allotted  to  the 
Inspectors,  and  one  as  a  hospital.  Within  the  walls  is  a  garden 
appropriated  to  the  Warden  and  one  to  the  domestics. 

The  food  of  the  convicts  is  cooked  by  steam,  but  it  is  estimated 
that  the  present  apparatus  has  not  the  capacity  to  prepare  food  for 
more  than  two  hundred  persons. 

The  cost  of  the  building  cannot  be  accurately  ascertained,  but 


the  following 
Legislature  : 

sums  are  known 

to  have  been 

appropriated 

by  the 

By  Act  of  20th  March, 

1821,  . 

.  $100,000 

00 

a 

15th  March, 

1824,  . 

80,000 

00 

6  C 

1  st  March, 

1825,  .  .  . 

60,000 

00 

(  c 

15  th  March, 

1826,  . 

89,124 

°9 

i  l 

9th  April, 

1827,  .  .  . 

1,000 

00 

a 

14th  April; 

1828, . 

4,000 

00 

a 

23d  April, 

182*9,  . 

.  .  5,000 

00 

i  ( 

3d  April, 

1830,  .  .  . 

.  .  4,000 

00 

( ( 

28th  March, 

1831,  .  .  . 

120,000 

00 

(  c 

27  th  February, 

1833, .  .  . 

.  .  130,000 

00 

( ( 

15  th  April, 

1834,  .  .  . 

20,000 

00 

n 

14th  April, 

1835,  .  .  . 

60,000 

00 

City  prison,  city  lots, 

&c., 

.  .  99, 476 

60 

Total,  . 

.  $772,600  69 

Pennsylvania  is  indebted  for  the  Penitentiary  system  to  such 
men  as  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Wm.  White,  R.  Wells,  B.  Wynkoop, 
T.  Wistar,  S.  P.  Griffitts,  J.  Kaighn,  Wm.  Rogers,  C.  Marshall, 
T.  Connelly,  T.  Cooper,  C.  Lowndes,  B.  Shaw,  T.  Harrison, 
Wm.  Lippincott,  Geo.  Duffield,  Roberts  Vaux,  N.  Collin,  T. 
Reed,  &c. ;  men  whose  philanthropy  know  no  bounds,  whose 
courage  nothing  could  daunt,  and  whose  industry  in  benevolence 
knew  no  resting  place.  Those  are  the  men  who  have  devised  a 
system,  and  under  whose  auspices  was  commenced  an  institution, 
which  in  the  strong  language  uttered  by  an  experienced  man  to 

) 


# 


64 

the  writer,  “  had  it  been  rightly  conducted  it  would  have  been  im¬ 
possible  to  find  a  fault  with  it.” 

Richard  Wistar  led  the  way  in  alleviating  the  miseries  of  prisons 
in  Pennsylvania.  This  benevolent  man,  before  the  Revolutionary 
War,  was  in  the  habit  of  causing  wholesome  soup,  prepared  at  his 
own  dwelling,  to  be  conveyed  to  the  prisoners  and  distributed  among 
them.  The  jail  was  then  situated  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Market 
and  Third  streets.  “  The  Philadelphia  Society  for  Assisting  Distressed 
Prisoners”  was  formed  on  the  7th  of  February,  1776 — suspended  in 
1 7  7  7  by  reason  of  the  presence  of  the  British  army  in  Philadelphia, 
and  revived  May  8th,  1787,  under  the  name  of  “The  Philadelphia 
Society  for  Alleviating  the  Miseries  of  Public  Prisons.”  To  the  efforts 
of  this  Society  may  be  attributed  the  construction  of  the  Eastern  State 
Penitentiary. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PENITENTIARY, 

1872. 

The  front  entrance  of  the  Penitentiary  is  16  feet 
wide,  40  in  height.  It  has  two  gates,  an  outer  one  on 
Coates  street,  and  an  inside  gate  opening  into  the  interior 
grounds.  These  two  gates  are  not  allowed  to  be  opened 
at  the  same  time,  and  when  a  vehicle  passes  in  from  the 
street,  the  gate  from  the  outside  is  closed  and  locked 
before  the  inner  gate  leading  to  the  premises  is  opened. 
The  same  precaution  is  observed  when  the  vehicle  passes 
out.  The  gatekeeper  is  always  present  in  his  room  at  the 
western  side  of  this  entrance.  The  eastern  portion  of 
the  front  buildings  is  for  the  Warden’s  family,  and  the 
Inspectors  have  their  room  on  that  side.  The  western 
is  for  the  Resident  Physician  and  the  Clerk’s  office,  and 
any  other  purpose  for  which  it  may  be  needed.  The 
carriage  and  foot  way  to  the  centre  building  is  30  feet 
wide,  and  on  either  side  of  it  are  large  plots  of  ground, 
with  flowers  and  grass. 


Bird' s-  Eye  View  of  the  Penitentiary ,  taken  from  the  Tower  over  the  Main  Entrance. 


/• 


T 


/ 


65 


The  “  centre  building  ”  is  40  feet  in  diameter.  It  is 
of  an  octagonal  shape,  and  each  corridor  opens  into  it. 
A  good  idea  may  be  had  of  its  form,  by  likening  it  to  the 
hub  of  a  wheel  from  which  the  spokes,  representing  the 
corridors,  radiate.  It  is  two  stories  high.  On  the  top 
is  a  lantern  and  lookout.  In  the  lantern  or  cupola,  are 
eight  reflectors,  20  inches  in  diameter,  silver-plated,  and 
by  the  use  of  gas  the  light  is  thrown  at  night  into  all 
parts  of  the  grounds.  It  is  deemed  one  of  the  best 
protections.  The  height  of  these  reflectors  from  the 
ground  is  about  50  feet.  The  centre  building  stands  in 
the  exact  centre  of  the  whole  plot  of  ground,  around 
which  is  a  substantial  stone  wall,  the  average  height  of 
which  is  35  feet.  At  the  base  it  is  12  feet  wide,  and  at 
the  top  2  feet,  with  a  coping  overhanging  inside  2*^  feet. 
There  is  a  tower  at  each  corner,  and  the  plot  of  ground 
contains  about  10  acres. 

COUNTIES  NOW  SENDING  PRISONERS. 

The  counties  now  comprised  in  the  Eastern  District, 
and  sending  prisoners  to  this  Penitentiary  are :  Adams, 
Bradford,  Bucks,  Carbon,  Cumberland,  Dauphin,  Dela¬ 
ware,  Franklin,  Lebanon,  Luzerne,  Lycoming,  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Montour,  Northampton,  Northumberland,  Perry, 
Philadelphia,  Pike,  Snyder,  Susquehanna,  Tioga,  Union, 
Wayne,  Wyoming,  York. 

ESCAPES. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  Penitentiary,  in  1829,  there 
have  been  nine  escapes.  Of  these,  six  were  retaken. 


66 


FLOUR  MILL. 

The  Grist  Mill,  situated  over  the  Cook  House  and 
Boiler  Room,  forms  an  important  feature  in  the  econom¬ 
ical  arrangement  of  this  Prison,  inasmuch  as  it  furnishes 
the  Penitentiary  with  fresh  flour  uniformly  sweet  and 
good,  at  a  very  considerably  less  cost  than  if  purchased 
in  the  market. 

The  engine  which  drives  the  mill  is  one  of  ten-horse 
power,  and  was  erected  in  the  year  1834,  for  the 
purpose  of  pumping  water  from  a  large  well  into  the 
reservoir,  at  times  of  scarcity  of  water  at  the  City 
Water  Works,  and  it  still  performs  that  service  when 
needed. 

The  net  gain  of  this  arrangement,  for  the  eleven 
months  it  has  been  in  operation,  has  been  $1,324.46. 

CARPENTER  SHOP. 

There  is  a  building  in  the  grounds,  between  the 
third  and  fourth  blocks,  constructed  so  that,  in  case  of 
emergency,  or  if  a  contagious  disease  should  manifest 
itself  in  the  cells,  a  comfortable,  well-heated  and  venti¬ 
lated  hospital  could,  in  a  few  hours,  be  ready  for  use. 
It  is  50  feet  in  length,  25  in  width,  and  two  stories  in 
height.  The  use  to  which  it  is  designed  is  a  general 
shop  for  storing  Wood  and  for  Carpenters  Work.  The 
upper  story,  12  feet  in  height,  can  be  promptly  made 
ready  for  a  hospital,  and  the  patients  separated  by 
temporary  screens. 


67 


RESERVOIRS. 

The  water  is  supplied  from  a  reservoir  to  all  the 
prisoners.  This  reservoir  is  circular  in  form,  41  feet  6 
inches  in  diameter;  25  feet  deep ;  holds  252,992  gallons 
of  water.  The  weight  of  the  water,  when  full,  is  equal 
to  1500  tons.  There  were  200,000  bricks  used  on  the 
inner  wall ;  the  outside  wall  is  of  stone.  The  walls  are 
3  feet  thick,  and  bound  with  iron  hoops,  built  in  the  wall, 
2  feet  apart.  The  whole  is  covered  with  a  slate  roof 
with  ventilator  at  the  top. 

The  kitchen  for  preparing  the  food  of  the  prisoners, 
the  bake-house,  and  the  flour  mill  in  which  all  the  flour  is 
ground,  are  located  in  the  buildings  adjoining  the  reser¬ 
voir.  There  is  a  well  14  feet  in  diameter  between 
the  reservoir  and  the  kitchen,  out  of  which  a  supply 
of  water  is  pumped  by  steam  when  the  water  in  the 
basin  supplied  by  the  city  water  works  is  too  low  for 
general  use.  . 

HEATING  AND  LIGHTING. 

The  heating  of  the  cells  is  by  steam  from  boilers  at 
the  end  of  the  corridors,  and  the  refuse  steam  is  used 
for  the  prisoners’  bath-house,  and  to  heat  the  centre 
building  and  library,  which  is  on  the  second  story  of  the 
centre-building.  Five  and  one-half  miles  of  iron  pipe 
are  employed  in  conducting  the  steam  through  various 
parts  of  the  premises.  Steam  as  a  means  of  heating  has 
been  introduced  in  lieu  of  hot  water.  The  total  number 
of  gas  burners  whereby  the  cells  are  lighted,  is  650. 


68 


WASH  ROOM. 

The  Wash  Room  is  25  by  25  feet,  the  Drying  Room 
25  by  30  feet,  and  each  15.  feet  high.  Between  these 
rooms  is  the  Boiler  Room,  25  by  20  feet  and  12  high, 
and  over  the  Boiler  Room  is  the  room  for  storing  boots 
and  shoes,  25  by  20  feet  and  11  feet  high.  These 
rooms  are  situated  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  block. 

The  Drying  Room  is  heated  by  steam  pipes,  giving 
a  temperature  of  150°  to  200°  Fahrenheit. 

The  same  boiler  which  heats  this  room,  supplies  hot 
water,  in  abundance,  for  washing. 

The  washing  is  done  with  a  machine,  which  is  put  in 
rapid  motion  by  a  pair  of  cranks  or  winches,  turned  by 
four  men.  It  is  found  to  be  very  effective,  doing  its  work 
thoroughly.  After  washing,  the  clothes  are  put  under  a 
screw-press,  and  the  water  forced  out,  leaving  them 
nearly  dry.  • 

There  are  not  less  than  2800  pieces  of  clothing 
washed  each  week. 

Each  article  is  marked  with  the  prisoner’s  number,  and 
his  own  clothes  and  bedding  are  always  returned  to  him. 

RECEIVING  ROOM. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  main  entrance,  at  a  short 
distance  beyond  the  inside  gate,  is  a  room,  properly  pro¬ 
tected,  for  the  reception  of  the  convicts.  It  is  so  secured 
that  no  combination  of  prisoners  to  escape  can  be  suc¬ 
cessful.  They  sometimes  arrive,  several  at  one  time,  in 
the  night,  from  the  counties  comprising  the  Eastern  Dis¬ 
trict,  when  caution  is  necessary,  as  they  are  then  unknown 


View  of  Corridor ,  First  Block ,  one  Story  in  height h,  the  New  Cells  at  the  End. 


I 


69 


to  the  prison  authorities.  In  this  room  the  reception  of 
the  prisoners  takes  place,  and  all  the  examinations  then 
necessary  are  made  before  they  are  taken  to  the  cells. 
In  passing  from  the  front  to  the  centre-building,  and 
thence  to  their  cells,  they  wear  a  cap,  which  prevents 
recognition  in  the  day-time,  and  secures  them  from  ac¬ 
quiring  any  topographical  knowledge  of  the  ground-plan 
of  the  Penitentiary.  Every  prisoner,  on  being  received, 
is  taken  to  a  bath  room,  and  thoroughly  cleansed.  He 
is  then  supplied  with  a  clean  suit  of  prison  garments, 
and  the  clothing  he  wore  upon  admission  and  such 
articles  as  were  found  upon  his  person,  are  carefully 
packed  away  to  be  restored  to  him  on  his  discharge. 
Personal  cleanliness  is  further  secured  by  a  frequent  use 
of  the  bath-room.  A  number  is  assigned  to  each  pris¬ 
oner  when  received,  and  by  that  number  he  is  designated 
as  long  as  he  remains  in  the  Institution. 

CORRIDORS  AND  BLOCKS  OF  CELLS. 

The  length  of  the  “  first  block  ”  is  368  feet ;  10  feet 
wide,  21  feet  high  to  the  top  of  the  arch.  The  old  cells 
in  this  block  are  7  feet  6  inches  in  width  by  12  feet  in 
length,  and  say  14  feet  in  height.  The  new  cells  in  this 
block  are  8  feet  wide,  1 6  feet  long  and  1 1  feet  high. 
There  are  twenty  of  these  new  cells,  built  1869-70. 
There  are  fifty  cells  in  this  block. 

The  length  of  the  “second  block”  is  268  feet, 
including  passage  way  from  corridor  to  the  centre-build¬ 
ing.  The  block  is  only  180  feet  in  length,  10  feet  wide 
and  21  feet  high.  There  are  38  cells  in  this  block. 


10 


70 


The  size  of  “  third  block  ”  is  same  as  second  block. 
There  are  20  cells  in  this  block  ;  18  “  double  cells,”  or  17 
by  1 2  feet,  1 2  feet  high,  and  used  as  shops.  These  three 
blocks  are  one  story  high. 

The  length  of  the  “fourth  block  ”  is  268  feet.  It  is 
two  stories  in  height.  There  are  fifty  cells  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  fifty  cells  in  the  second  story.  The  size  is 
7  feet  6  inches  wide  by  1 5  feet  long  and  1 1  feet  high. 
The  cells  in  the  second  story  are  the  same  size  as  the 
others,  and  1 2  feet  high.  There  are  136  cells  in  this  block. 

The  “  fifth  block  ”  is  362  feet  in  length,  10  feet  wide. 
The  corridor  is  33  feet  high  and  has  two  stories.  There 
are  68  cells  on  the  ground  floor  and  68  on  the  second 
floor.  The  size  of  the  cells  is  the  same  as  “fourth  block.” 

The  “  sixth  block  ”  is  268  feet  long,  10  feet  wide,  two 
stories  high.  The  height  of  the  corridor  33  feet,  and  it 
contains  100  cells  of  the  same  size  as  the  “fourth  block.” 

The  “  seventh  block  ”  is  365  feet  long,  two  stories 
high,  15  feet  wide  on  the  gallery,  10  feet  wide  on  the 
ground  floor.  It  is  38  feet  in  height.  The  cells  are  7 
feet  6  inches  wide,  16  feet  long  and  11  feet  high.  There 
are  136  cells  in  this  block. 

The  cells  on  the  ground  floor  of  all  the  corridors 
have  yards  attached  to  them  ;  the  cells  on  the  second 
stories  have  no  yards.  Some  are  double  cells  (two  cells 
in  one,)  for  special  use.  • 

THE  NEW  CELLS. 

Twenty  new  cells  have  been  added  to  the  first 
block  corridor.  They  are  the  result,  in  construction, 


View  of  Fifth  Block  Corridor ,  with  Gallery ,  two  Stories  high. 


7 1 


of  all  the  experience  gained  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
building  such  apartments.  These  new  cells  are  8  feet  by 
1 6,  and  1 2  feet  high.  They  are  lighted  by  a  skylight  5 
feet  by  12  inches.  The  means  of  supplying  heat  and 
ventilation  and  light  are  regarded  as  most  complete. 
The  heat  is  from  steam  supplied  by  a  boiler  at  the  end 
of  the  block,  and  is  sufficient  for  this  and  the  second 
block.  Each  cell  has  a  yard  8  by  14  feet,  and  enclosed 
by  a  wall  1 1  feet  high.  The  water  for  drinking  is  at  the 
command  of  the  prisoner.  The  gas  is  given  between 
certain  hours.  A  privy  is  in  each  cell,  and  is  cleaned 
daily  by  flooding  into  a  sewer. 

The  doors  into  the  corridors  slide  in  grooves,  and 
the  fastenings  were  designed  by  Mr.  Cassidy,  the  prin¬ 
cipal  overseer,  who  had  entire  superintendence  of  the 
construction  of  the  work.  The  cells  are  regarded  as  the 
most  approved  of  any  in  use. 

ACTS  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  RELATING  TO  THIS  STATE 

PENITENTIARY. 


Act  of  March  3,  1818 
Act  of  March  20,  1821 
Act  of  April  10,  1826 
Act  of  Feb.  27,  1833 
Act  of  April  23,  1829 
Act  of  March  31,  i860 
Act  of  April  15,  1834 
Act  of  April  23,  1829 
Act  of  April  16,  1845 


Relating  to  Eastern  and  West¬ 
ern  Penitentiaries. 


J 


►  As  to  convicts. 


\ 


72 


Act  of  April  23,  1829 
Act  of  Feb.  27,  1847 
Act  of  May  31,  1833 
Act  of  Feb.  27,  1833 
Act  of  April  10,  1848 
Act  of  April  23,  1829 
Act  of  April  8,  1848 
Act  of  Jan.  17,  1831 
Act  of  May  27,  1861 
Resolution  of  April  16, 
1838 

Act  of  April  16,  1866 
Act  of  May  27,  1871 


> 


j 


Enacting  certain  rules  for  the 
management  of  the  Penitentiary 
and  duties  of  Inspectors  and 
officers. 


SUMMARY  OF  ACTS  OF  ASSEMBLY. 

Act  of  March  3,  1818  : 

Enacts  that  a  penitentiary  on  the  plan  of  soli¬ 
tary  confinement  at  Allegheny  (Pittsburg),  on 
the  plan  exhibited  by  the  Inspectors  of  the 
prison  of  Philadelphia  shall  be  constructed. 

Act  of  March  20,  1821  : 

Enacts  that  a  penitentiary  holding  250  prisoners 
on  the  principle  of  solitary  confinement  at 
Philadelphia,  called  the  State  Penitentiary  for 
the  Eastern  District  shall  be  constructed.  The 
plan  to  be  the  same  as  at  Pittsburg,  subject  to 
such  alterations  and  improvements  as  commis¬ 
sioners,  with  the  Governor’s  approval,  may 
suggest.  Provided  that  the  principle  of  solitary 
confinement  of  prisoners  be  preserved  and  main¬ 
tained. 


73 


i 


Act  of  April  io,  1826  : 

Divides  the  State  into  districts,  fixing  the  coun¬ 
ties  for  each,  from  which  convicts  shall  be  sent 
to  said  Penitentiaries. 

Act  of  April  23,  1829: 

Refers  to  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  as 
to  food  and  clothing,  and  those  persons  who  may 
visit  them ;  and  also  as  to  payment  of  expense 
of  keeping  the  convicts  ;  and  also  as  to  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  accounts  to  the  counties,  and  how  the 
same  are  to  be  paid ;  and  the  time  for  sending 
the  drafts  on  the  Treasurer  of  the  counties. 

Act  of  April  23,  1829: 

As  to  the  mode  of  managing  the  said  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  and  how  Inspectors  shall  be  appointed ; 
and  as  to  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the 

\ 

government  of  the  Penitentiary ;  and  how  the 
Inspectors  shall  organise,  viz. :  President,  Secre¬ 
tary  and  Treasurer;  and  the  duty  of  Inspectors 
to  appoint  a  Warden,  Physician  and  Clerk. 
(See  Act,  reprinted,  ante  page  36.) 

Act  of  January  17,  1831: 

.  Authorises  the  Inspectors  to  sit  as  an  insol¬ 
vent  court  and  discharge  convicts  (without  the 
delay  and  expense  of  legal  proceedings  in  insol¬ 
vent  court,)  if  Inspectors  are  satisfied  the  convict 
is  not  able  to  pay  fine,  costs  of  prosecution  or 
restore  the  stolen  property,  provided  legal  rem¬ 
edies  may  be  taken  after  said  discharge. 

Act  of  February  27,  1833  : 

Adds  certain  counties  to  the  Eastern  District. 


74 


Resolution  of  April  1 6,  1838: 

Authorizing  appointment  of  Moral  Instructor. 
Act  of  April  15,  1843: 

Directs  that  the  Wardens  of  the  Penitentiaries 
are  authorized  to  receive  persons  convicted  in 
the  Federal  Courts  in  this  State,  provided  the 
sentences  of  the  said  Courts  subject  them  to  the 
same  discipline  and  treatment  as  convicts  from 
State  Courts,  and  while  in  prison  to  be  exclu¬ 
sively  under  control  of  State  officers. 

Act  of  May  31,  1844: 

Authorizing  the  pay  of  Moral  Instructor. 

Act  of  April  16,  1845: 

As  to  expense  of  conveying  convicts  to  the 
Penitentiary. 

Act  of  April  16,  1846: 

As  to  official  visitors. 

Act  of  Feb.  16,  1847: 

Relates  to  reports  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
prisons  and  prisoners. 

Act  of  April  10,  1848: 

Authorizes  Inspectors  of  Penitentiaries  to  submit 
to  arbitration  all  disputes  as  to  business  claims 
arising  out  of  the  labor  of  convicts  of  the 
Institutions. 

Act  of  April  11,  1848: 

As  to  same. 

Act  of  April  25,  1848: 

As  to  discharged  convicts  and  the  sum  to  be 
given  to  them. 


75 


Act  of  March  25,  1850 : 

Adds  Lawrence  county  to  Western  District. 

Act  of  March,  31,  i860: 

Enacts  that  if  a  prisoner  be  sentenced  to  labor  by 
separate  and  solitary  confinement  for  any  period 
not  less  than  one  year,  the  imprisonment  and 
labor  shall  be  performed  in  the  State  Peniten¬ 
tiary  of  the  proper  district.  Provided  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  prevent  such  persons  from 
being  sentenced  to  imprisonment  and  labor  by 
separate  and  solitary  confinement  in  the  county 
prisons  now  or  hereafter  authorized  by  law  to 
receive  convicts  of  a  like  description,  and  pro¬ 
vided  further  that  no  convict  shall  be  sentenced 
by  any  court  of  this  Commonwealth  to  either 
Penitentiary  for  any  term  that  shall  expire  be¬ 
tween  the  15th  of  November  and  the  15th  of 
February  of  any  year. 

Act  of  May  1,  1861 : 

Relates  to  conduct  of  prisoners  who  have  been 
sentenced  for  more  than  six  months,  a  record 
to  be  kept  in  a  book  and  examined  by  the  Inspec¬ 
tors,  and  the  record  of  punishment  for  violating 
the  rules  of  the  Penitentiary;  and  also  enacting 
what  is  called  the  “commutation  law,”  (decided 
by  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  unconstitutional, 
as  interfering  with  judgments  of  the  judiciary.) 
[See  Wright’s  Pennsylvania  State  Reports,  vol. 
vi.,  page  446.] 

Act  of  April  16,  1866: 

Regulating  the  use  of  tobacco. 


7  6 


Act  of  May  21,  1869  : 

Re-enacting  the  “commutation  law,”  avoiding 
the  points  in  the  former  Act  which  were  de¬ 
clared  by  the  Supreme  Court  to  have  been 
unconstitutional. 

Act  of  April  27,  1871  : 

Allotment  of  prisoners  to  the  Western  Peniten¬ 
tiary  from  some  of  the  counties  which  were 
heretofore  attached  to  the  Eastern  District. 

Act  of  April  27,  1871  : 

Allotment  of  prisoners  to  Western  Penitentiary. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PENITENTIARY. 

The  Inspectors  who  manage  the  State  Penitentiary 
are  five  in  number,  appointed  by  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  for  two  years. 

* 

LIST  OF  INSPECTORS  OF  THE  PENITENTIARY. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  gentlemen  who  have 
held  the  position  from  the  organization  of  the  Insti¬ 
tution. 

The  first  five  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Court  at 
Philadelphia,  the  19th  of  May,  1829,  were  Charles  Sidney 
Coxe,  John  Swift,  Roberts  Vaux,  Daniel  H.  Miller  and 
Josiah  Randall.  During  the  year  1829,  Roberts  Vaux 
and  Josiah  Randall  resigned,  and  the  place  of  Mr.  Vaux 

was  filled  by  Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.,  and  that  of  Mr.  Ran- 

’ » 

dall  by  Benjamin  W.  Richards. 


77 


FIRST  ORGANIZATION  OF  BOARD  OF  INSPECTORS. 

The  Board  of  Inspectors  organized,  May  19,  1829, 
by  electing  Judge  Coxe,  President;  John  Swift,  Secretary, 
Josiah  Randall,  Treasurer;  Franklin  Bache,  on  November 
7,  was  elected  Physician ;  and,  on  June  29,  Samuel  R. 
Wood,  Warden;  and  John  Norvall,  Clerk. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  term  for  which  the  Inspectors 
had  been  appointed,  the  Supreme  Court  reappointed 
May  23,  1831,  Judge  Coxe,  Thomas  Bradford  and  Ben¬ 
jamin  H.  Richards,  and  added  John  Bacon  and  William 
H.  Hood  for  the  vacancies.  The  Board  organized,  May 
23,  1831,  as  follows:  Charles  S.  Coxe,  President; 
Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.,  Secretary,  and  John  Bacon,  Trea¬ 
surer. 

There  was  no  Moral  Instructor  appointed,  but  the 
Rev.  Charles  Demme,  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church, 
undertook  to  perform  these  duties,  and  was  aided  at 
various  times  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Crawford  and  the 
Rev.  James  Wilson,  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian,  and 
Associate  Reformed  Churches. 

In  the  year  1833,  the  Supreme  Court  reappointed 
the  Inspectors  as  follows :  Charles  S.  Coxe,  Thomas 
Bradford,  Jr.,  Benjamin  W.  Richards,  John  Bacon  and 
William  H.  Hood.  Judge  Coxe  was  elected  President; 
W.  H.  Hood,  Secretary;  Mr.  Bacon,  Treasurer;  S.  R. 
Wood,  Warden,  and  Dr.  Bache,  Attending  Physician. 

In  the  year  1835,  the  following  gentlemen  were  ap¬ 
pointed  Inspectors:  Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.,  John  Bacon, 
William  H.  Hood,  Matthew  L.  Bevan  and  General  Robert 


11 


78 


Patterson.  Mr.  Bradford  was  elected  President;  Mr. 
Hood,  Secretary;  Mr.  Bacon,  Treasurer;  S.  R.  Wood, 
Warden,  and  Dr.  Bache,  Attending  Physician. 

In  the  year  1837,  the  Inspectors  were  reappointed  as 
follows:  Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.,  John  Bacon,  William  H. 
Hood,  Matthew  L.  Bevan  and  Robert  Patterson.  Mr. 
Bradford,  President;  Mr.  Hood,  Secretary,  John  S. 
Halloway,  Clerk,  and  Mr.  Bacon,  Treasurer;  Dr.  William 
Darrach  was  appointed  Attending  Physician,  vice  Dr. 
Bache,  resigned. 

In  the  year  1838,  September  1,  Rev.  Thomas  Lar- 
combe  was  appointed  Moral  Instructor. 

The  Supreme  Court  in  1839,  reappointed  the  In¬ 
spectors,  and  the  Board  organized  with  the  same  officers. 

In  July,  1840,  Samuel  R.  Wood  resigned  as  Warden, 
and  the  Board  appointed  George  Thompson  in  his 
place. 

On  the  7th  day  of  January,  1842,  the  Supreme  Court 
appointed  the  following  gentlemen  Inspectors  :  Thomas 
Bradford,  John  Bacon,  Matthew  L.  Bevan,  Robert  Patter¬ 
son  and  Richard  Vaux.  M.  L.  Bevan  was  elected  Presi¬ 
dent;  Richard  Vaux,  Secretary;  John  Bacon,  Treasurer; 
George  Thompson,  Warden;  John  S.  Halloway,  Clerk. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1843,  Dr.  Edward  Harts- 
horne  was  elected  Resident  Physician,  in  the  place  of 
Dr.  Darrach,  who  was  attending  physician.  The  Board 
were  satisfied  that  the  best  interests  of  the  Institution 
required  the  physician  to  reside  in  the  building. 

January  5,  1844,  Inspectors  reappointed  and  organ¬ 
ized  as  before. 


79 


In  1844,  May  7,  Dr.  Hartshorne  resigned  as  Resident 
Physician,  and  Dr.  Robert  A.  Given  was  elected  to  that 
position. 

In  1845,  September  9,  George  Thompson  resigned 
as  Warden,  and  Thomas  Scattergood  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy. 

In  the  year  1847,  William  A.  Porter  was  appointed 
Inspector  in  the  place  of  Robert  Patterson,  resigned. 

On  the  14th  day  of  December,  1849,  Matthew  L. 
Bevan,  one  of  the  Inspectors  and  President  of  the  Board, 
died  full  of  years,  having  lived  a  blameless  life.  He  had 
served  as  Inspector  since  July,  1834.  The  Supreme 
Court  appointed  Hugh  Campbell  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

The  Board  organized  by  the  election  of  William  A. 
Porter,  President;  Richard  Vaux,  Secretary;  John  Bacon, 
Treasurer;  Thomas  Scattergood,  Warden;  Dr.  Given, 
Resident  Physician,  and  John  S.  Halloway,  Clerk. 

On  the  2 1  st  of  September,  1850,  John  S.  Halloway 
was  elected  Warden  and  William  Marriott,  Clerk. 

In  the  year  1851,  William  A.  Porter  resigned  as 
Inspector,  and  Thomas  Bradford  died.  The  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  to  fill  these  vacancies,  S. 
A.  Mercer  and  Charles  Brown.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Bradford  was  the  result  of  long  ill  health.  He  had 
been  connected  with  the  Institution  from  the  time  of  the 
erection  of  the  building  till  his  death,  except  a  short 
period,  when  he  was  appointed  Inspector  on  the  resigna¬ 
tion  of  Roberts  Vaux. 

The  Board  was  organized  May  3,  1851,  by  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  Richard  Vaux,  President;  S.  A.  Mercer,  Secretary, 


8o 


and  John  Bacon,  Treasurer.  John  S.  Halloway  was 
elected  Warden ;  Mr.  Larcombe,  Moral  Instructor,  and 
William  Marriot,  Clerk.  Dr.  Lassiter  was  elected  Resi¬ 
dent  Physician  in  the  place  of  Dr.  Given,  resigned,  June 
20,  1851. 

In  the  year  1853,  Charles  Brown  and  Hugh  Camp¬ 
bell  resigned  as  Inspectors,  and  their  vacancies  were 
supplied  by  the  appointment  of  Andrew  Miller  and 
Chambers  McKibben.  The  Board  organized  by  the 
election  of  Richard  Vaux,  President;  Andrew  Miller, 
Secretary,  and  John  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

In  the  year  1854,  Singleton  Mercer  resigned  as  In¬ 
spector,  and  Samuel  Jones,  M.  D.,  was  appointed  in  his 
place. 

John  S.  Halloway  resigned  as  Warden,  and  the 
Board  elected  Nimrod  Strickland,  of  Chester  County, 
to  that  office,  June  17,  1854. 

In  the  year  1855,  April  13,  the  Supreme  Court 
appointed  Richard  Vaux,  John  Bacon,  Samuel  Jones, 
C.  McKibben  and  Andrew  Miller,  Inspectors.  Richard 
Vaux,  President;  A.  Miller,  Secretary;  John  Bacon, 
Treasurer. 

In  the  year  1856,  Judge  Strickland  resigned  as  War¬ 
den,  and  the  Board  elected  John  S.  Halloway  to  his  former 
position  as  Warden.  Dr.  Lassiter  resigned  as  Resident 
Physician,  and  Thomas  Newbold,  M.  D.,  was  elected  in 
his  place. 

On  February  6,  1857,  Chambers  McKibben  resigned 
as  Inspector,  and  William  Goodwin  was  appointed  in  his 
place. 


8i 


In  the  year  1858,  William  Marriot,  Clerk  of  the  Peni¬ 
tentiary  died,  and  Richard  J.  Prendegrast  was  temporarily 
elected  to  that  position. 

In  the  year  1859,  March  25,  the  Supreme  Court 
appointed  the  following  gentlemen  Inspectors  :  Richard 
Vaux,  John  Bacon,  Samuel  Jones,  Alexander  Henry 
and  Thomas  H.  Powers. 

The  Board  organized  by  the  election  of  Richard 
Vaux,  President;  Samuel  Jones,  Secretary,  and  John 
Bacon,  Treasurer.  R.  J.  Prendegrast  was  elected  Clerk. 

John  Bacon,  who  had  been  so  long  connected  with 
the  Penitentiary,  and  acted  for  many  years  as  Treasurer 
of  the  Board,  died  in  1859.  He  was  for  thirty  years  con¬ 
nected  with  the  Penitentiary. 

On  November  5,  the  Supreme  Court  appointed 
Furman  Sheppard  in  the  place  of  John  Bacon,  de¬ 
ceased,  and  the  Board  elected  him  Treasurer  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 

In  i860,  The  Moral  Instructor,  Thomas  Larcombe 
died;  November,  1861,  the  Rev.  C.  M.  Breaker  was 
appointed  in  his  place;  January  27,  1862,  he  died,  and 
the  Rev.  John  Ruth  was  elected  to  the  vacancy. 

On  January  7,  1861,  the  Supreme  Court  appointed 
Richard  Vaux,  Samuel  Jones,  Furman  Sheppard,  Alex¬ 
ander  Henry  and  Thomas  H.  Powers,  Inspectors.  The 
Board  organized  by  electing  Richard  Vaux,  President; 
Samuel  Jones,  Secretary;  Furman  Sheppard,  Treasurer. 

In  June,  1862,  Dr.  Newbold  resigned  his  position  as 
Resident  Physician,  and  Dr.  S.  A.  Woodhouse  was 
elected,  September  6,  in  his  place. 


82 


In  1863,  Dr.  Taylor  was  elected  Resident  Physician 
in  the  place  of  Dr.  Woodhouse,  resigned,  and  A.  J.  Ourt 
was  elected  Clerk,  (he  was  at  the  time  a  teacher  for  the 
prisoners,)  in  the  place  of  R.  J.  Prendegrast. 

In  the  year  1864,  Samuel  Jones  died,  and  his  place 
was  filled,  January  9,  1865,  by  the  appointment  of 
Anthony  J.  Drexel.  The  Board  organized  by  electing 
Richard  Vaux,  President,  Thomas  H.  Powers,  Secretary, 
and  Furman  Sheppard,  Treasurer. 

During  the  year  1866,  Henry  M.  Klapp,  M.  D., 
was  elected  Resident  Physician  in  the  place  of  Dr. 
Taylor,  resigned. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1869,  John  S.  Halloway, 
the  Warden,  died.  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Hallo¬ 
way  to  remark,  that  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  him 
while  connected  with  this  Penitentiary,  were  discharged 
by  him  with  a  firmness  and  an  ability  and  integrity  which 
qualified  him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  the  position  which 
he  so  long  occupied. 

In  the  year  1870,  the  Supreme  Court  appointed  the 
following  gentlemen  Inspectors :  Richard  Vaux,  Alex¬ 
ander  Henry,  Furman  Sheppard,  Thomas  H.  Powers  and 
John  M.  Maris.  The  Board  organized  by  electing  Richard 
Vaux,  President;  John  M.  Maris,  Secretary,  and  Furman 
Sheppard,  Treasurer. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1870,  S.  Sheneman  was 
elected  Clerk. 

For  some  months  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Halloway, 
the  duties  of  Warden,  pro  tempore ,  were  satisfactorily 
discharged  by  M.  J.  Cassidy,  one  of  the  overseers,  while 
Dr.  Klapp  was  nominally  Warden. 


83 


On  the  8th.  of  July,  1870,  Edward  Townsend,  M.  D., 
was  elected  Warden,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  Halloway. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1872,  Dr.  Klapp  resigned  as 
Resident  Physician,  and  Dr.  C.  Bullard  was  appointed 
to  fill  the  vacancy. 

SKETCH  OF  THE  GENTLEMEN  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  AS 

INSPECTORS. 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  give  some  very 
general  information  as  to  the  gentlemen  who  from  1829 
to  1872,  have  held  the  responsible  position  of  Inspectors 
of  the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary. 

Charles  S.  Coxe,  a  lawyer,  and  Judge  of  the  District 
Court  of  Philadelphia. 

Josiah  Randall,  a  lawyer  of  marked  prominence  at 
the  Philadelphia  Bar. 

Roberts  Vaux  was  in  no  active  business;  he  devoted  his 
time  to  public  institutions  for  education  and  benevo¬ 
lence.  His  labors  on  behalf  of  the  separate  system 
of  prison  discipline  and  public  education  are  a  part 
of  the  history  of  his  time. 

John  Swift,  a  lawyer,  and  for  many  years  Mayor,  and 
subsequently  an  Alderman,  of  Philadelphia. 

Thomas  Bradford,  Jr.,  a  lawyer,  for  a  long  time  Inspector 
of  the  old  Walnut  Street  Prison,  and  one  of  the  early 
champions  of  the  separate  system.* 

Daniel  H.  Miller,  a  merchant,  and  State  Senator. 

*  Mr.  Bradford  and  Mr.  Vaux  drew  up  the  Act  of  1829.  Mr.  Bradford  was  one  of  the  most 
devoted  friends  of  the  Pennsylvania  system. 


i 


84 

Benjamin  W.  Richards,  a  merchant,  and  Mayor  of 
Philadelphia. 

John  Bacon,  a  merchant,  and  for  many  years  Trea¬ 
surer  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

William  H.  Hood,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia. 

Matthew  L.  Bevan,  a  merchant,  and  member  of  one 
of  the  largest  business  firms  in  the  city. 

General  Robert  Patterson  is  a  prominent  merchant  and 
manufacturer. 

Richard  Vaux,  a  lawyer,  Recorder,  and  Mayor  of  Phila¬ 
delphia. 

William  A.  Porter,  a  lawyer,  High  Sheriff  of  Philadel¬ 
phia  County,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania. 

Singleton  A.  Mercer,  a  merchant,  and  President  of  the 
Farmers’  and  Mechanics’  Bank  of  Philadelphia. 

Charles  Brown  was  engaged  in  business,  was  a  member 
of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  Collector  of 
the  Port  of  Philadelphia. 

Hugh  Campbell,  a  merchant. 

Chambers  M’Kibben,  the  proprietor  of  the  Merchants 
Hotel,  and  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  at  Phila¬ 
delphia. 

Andrew  Miller,  a  grocer,  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  for 
the  County  of  Philadelphia,  and  a  lawyer  later  in  life. 

William  Goodwin,  a  manufacturer  and  State  Senator. 

Anthony  J.  Drexel,  a  banker,  of  the  well-known  firm 
of  A.  J.  Drexel  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia. 

Alexander  Henry,  a  lawyer,  and  Mayor  of  Philadelphia. 

Samuel  Jones,  a  teacher  and  physician. 


85 


Furman  Sheppard,  a  lawyer,  and  has  been  District 
Attorney  for  Philadelphia. 

Thomas  H.  Powers,  a  manufacturer  of  chemicals,  &c.,  of 
the  old  established  and  well-known  firm  of  Powers 
&  Weightman. 

John  M.  Maris,  a  merchant,  and  was  for  some  time  one  of 
the  Guardians  of  the  Poor  of  Philadelphia. 

A  REVIEW  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION. 

From  the  opening  of  this  Penitentiary  in  1829,  to 
the  end  of  the  last  year,  1871,  42  years  have  elapsed. 
This  period  may  be  sub-divided  into  two  epochs,  the  first, 
from  1829  to  1849,  should  be  designated  as  the  epoch  of 
experiment  and  experience ,  the  latter  of  development  and 
progress.  It  requires  neither  argument  nor  justification 
to  denominate  the  first  period  as  one  during  which  the 
system  was  to  be  studied  g.nd  understood.  From  the 
earliest  efforts  to  secure  “solitude,”  as  it  was  called,  for 
the  convict  during  his  imprisonment,  till  the  trial  was  so 
indifferently  and  partially  made  in  the  Walnut  Street 
prison,  by  the  separation  of  a  few  prisoners,  it  was  the 
theory  ol  separatioit  that  was  mainly  considered. 

When  the  Penitentiary  was  ready  in  1829  for  the 
reception  of  some  occupants,  it  may  be  said  that  very 
little  was  really  known  as  to  the  effect  of  the  discipline 
on  the  prisoners.  Indeed,  the  discipline  of  itself  was  a 
theory.  For  many  years  following  1829,  it  was  not  pos¬ 
sible  to  do  more  than  supervise  the  administration,  and 
put  it  into  working  order.  It  required  some  time  to 
settle  what  were  the  consequences  of  the  discipline,  and 


12 


86 


patient  investigation  was  necessary  to  determine  them. 
To  finish  all  the  buildings,  suffer  from  some  serious  criti¬ 
cisms  on  the  management,  and  harmonize  almost  irrecon¬ 
cilable  opinions,  if  not  feelings,  among  those  who  were 
first  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  penitentiary, 
distracted  the  minds  of  those  who  were  charged  with  the 
government  of  the  institution.  Therefore,  from  1829  to 
1835  the  attention  of  the  Inspectors  was  not  wholly 
concentrated  on  the  workings  of  the  system  which  had 
been  established  for  the  penitentiary.  From  1835  to 
1849  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  was  thoroughly  con¬ 
sidered,  and  then  it  was  that  the  experience  developed 
in  the  experiment  of  the  separate  system,  became  of 
great  importance. 

From  1849  to  1 8  7 1 ,  the  Inspectors  were  to  a  greater 
extent  occupied  in  investigating  the  principles  and  the 
philosophy  of  the  separate  or  individual-treatment  dis¬ 
cipline,  which  is  now  in  full  operation  in  this  penitentiary. 

These  remarks  are  properly  prefatory  to  the  annexed 
extracts  from  the  Reports  of  the  Inspectors  to  the  Legisla¬ 
ture.  They  are  also  intended  to  present  the  reason  for, 

'  and  explain  the  purpose  of,  the  statement  of  the  results  of 
the  administration  of  the  system  of  separate  confinement 
of  prisoners  in  the  penitentiary,  for  the  two  periods  to 
which  reference  has  been  made.  This  statement  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  progress  made,  but  prominently 
show  the  philosophic  basis  on  which  penology  must  rest, 
and  the  intimate  relations  it  bears  to  social  science. 

The  Penitentiary  went  into  operation,  by  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  the  first  prisoner,  on  October  25,  1829.  The  law 


87 


organizing  it  was  in  force  June  i,  1829,  and  S.  R.  Wood, 
the  first  Warden,  took  charge  August  1,  1829.  Four 
blocks  of  cells  were  yet  unfinished,  and  the  architect  and 
the  friends  of  the  separate  system,  as  well  as  the  Inspec¬ 
tors,  were  engaged  in  ascertaining  what  improvements 
could  be  made  in  the  details  of  the  general  plan.  The 
State  Penitentiary  at  Pittsburgh  (Allegheny)  and  the  one 
at  Philadelphia,  constructed  on  the  plan  of  separate  con- 
finement  of  the  convicts,  were  both  originally  devised 
without,  of  course,  much,  if  any,  practical  experience  in 
their  adaptation  to  the  objects  for  which  they  were  to  be 
occupied.  It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  experience, 
when  obtained,  did  not  suggest  various  improvements  in 
the  structure  of  prisons  for  the  separation,  individual 
treatment,  and  labor  and  instruction  of  the  inmates. 

It  is  but  proper  to  note  that,  in  1818,  there  was  a 
difference  of  opinion  among  the  friends  of  the  system  as 
to  what  it  really  should  be  in  its  administration.  Some 
were  for  solitude ,  as  it  was  called  in  contradistinction  to 
congregation,  without  labor.  Others  were  in  favor  of 
solitude  and  hard  labor.  The  first  blocks  of  cells  were 
erected  when  this  subject  had  been  settled,  but  it  had  so 
engaged  the  minds  of  all  parties  before  the  great  results 
which  experience  has  since  shown  were  to  result  from 
separation  and  the  individual-treatment  of  the  prisoners, 
that  these  apartments  were  not  wholly  suited  to  the 
wiser  and  truer  discipline.* 

*  Mr.  Vaux,  Mr.  Bradford  and  Mr.  Wood  drew  up  the  Acts  of  Assembly  of  1821  and  1829. 
Mr.  Bradford  was  for  solitude  without  labor.  Mr.  Vaux  was  so  decidedly  in  favor  of  “separation  of 
prisoners,”  that  he  was  willing  labor  and  instruction  should  be  part  of  the  system,  and  Mr.  Wood  was 
unequivocally  the  advocate  of  labor  under  any  circumstances. — McElwee  s  Report. 


88 


It  is  not  now  scarcely  possible  to  explain  how  much 
of  discussion  and  difference  of  opinion  then  existed  on 
these  subjects.  The  friends  of  the  separate  system  had 
not  only  to  educate  the  public  mind  in  Pennsylvania  as 
to  its  real  merits,  but  also  to  combat  opposition  in  Eng¬ 
land,  New  England,  New  York,  and  among  various 
gentlemen  who  had  some  general  opinions  on  penal 
jurisprudence.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  all  the  views 
expressed  from  these  sources.  A  history,  even  as  brief 
as  the  one  now  presented,  would  not  however  be 
satisfactory  without  some  reference  to  these  interesting 
questions  and  their  effects  on  the  Pennsylvania  system. 

The  system  of  Pennsylvania  may  now  be  properly 
described  as  the  separate  and  individual-treatment  system 
of  prison  discipline .  We  believe  it  to  be  as  great  a 
success  as  human  effort,  under  all  the  circumstances, 
could  be  expected  to  accomplish. 

Crime  and  criminals  should  be  regarded  in  the 
relation  they  bear  to  the  social  condition.  Society,  the 
State,  or  Commonwealth,  demands  protection  against 
violations  of  those  laws  which  are  enacted  for  protection 
of  the  interests,  happiness,  security  and  welfare  of  the 
people.  For  these  violations  of  law,  punishment  is  to  be 
inflicted  on  the  offender.  Thus  far  the  State  is  directly 
interested  in  the  laws  defining  crimes,  and  declaring  the 
penalties.  The  vindication  of  the  law  and  its  adminis¬ 
tration,  and  the  infliction  of  the  punishment  comprise  the 
paramount  interests  of  the  State.  The  punishment 
begins  its  operation  on  the  criminal,  and  so  far  as  that 
punishment  deters  from  crime ,  the  State  has  a  direct 


i 


89 


interest  in  the  system  by  which  it  is  administered.  Out 
of  the  system  come  other  benefits  to  the  State,  such  as 
the  reformation  of  the  offender,  and  the  protection  of 
the  State  from  the  perils  of  a  crime-class,  created  by 
the  system  of  punishment. 

The  system  by  which,  in  penitentiary  or  prison,  the 
punishment  is  inflicted,  and  by  which  these  benefits  are 
to  be  derived  both  by  the  State  and  the  convict  is  of 
equal  importance  with  any  other  of  the  interests  the 
State  has  directly  in  its  jurisprudence. 

This  system  is  one  to  be  considered  and  determined 
by  applying  to  the  principles  on  which  it  is  based,  a 
scientific  investigation  only,  for  any  other,  subordinates 
to  the  feelings  and  interests  what  should  be  predominant 
as  a  question  of  social  science. 

This  subject,  it  may  be  remarked,  is  one  that  requires 
the  most  thorough  examination  before  any  conclusions 
can  be  safely  arrived  at.  The  questions  of  original  cost, 
kinds  of  labor,  or  capacity  to  be  self-supporting,  have  no 
direct  concern  with  the  system  of  punishment.  If  the 
punishment  by  the  separate  and  individual-treatment 
of  the  convicts,  secures  society  and  protects  the  people; 
deters  from  crime;  punishes  the  offender;  reforms  the 
individual;  returns  him  to  his  former  social  relations 
better,  or  no  worse  than  when  he  was  separated  from 
them  by  his  imprisonment;  prevents  the  organization  or 
augmentation  of  a  crime-class  in  the  community;  then 
the  principal  purposes,  the  highest  aims  of  punishment 
are  obtained.  It  is  with  these  that  society  is  directly  con¬ 
cerned.  To  ascertain  whether  these  effects  are  the  con- 


90 


sequences  of  any  system  of  punishment,  requires  that 
the  system  should  be  scientfically  and  practically  investi¬ 
gated,  and  all  other  questions  should  be  postponed 
till  these  consequences  are  determined. 

It  is  claimed  for  the  separate  and  individual-treat¬ 
ment  system,  as  now  administered  in  the  Eastern  State 
Penitentiary  at  Philadelphia,  that  it  accomplishes  all  these 
purposes.  Let  the  contrary  be  demonstrated  before  the 

a 

system  is  either  condemned  or  set  aside  for  one  which  yields 
less ,  or  none  of  the  great  objects  of  punishment  by  impris¬ 
onment  of  offenders.  It  will  not  suffice  to  condemn  the 
separate  system,  because,  by  the  separation  of  convicts, 
less  profits  are  obtained  from  their  labor  than  when  they 
work  aided  by  machinery  in  an  associate  or  congregate 
prison.  The  State  has  no  such  paramount  interest  in  the 
profits  of  the  labor  of  its  convicts  as  to  abandon  all  the  other 
benefits  which  should  be  derived  from  their  punishment. 
The  congregation  or  association  of  convicts  during  their 
punishment  by  imprisonment,  produces  evils  ultimately 
far  more  expensive  to  the  State  than  the  loss  of  profits 
gained  by  working  them  together  for  the  period  of  their 
imprisonment. 

It  is  doubted  if  ever  yet  a  system  of  penitentiary 
discipline,  or  of  treatment  of  offenders  sentenced  to 
separation  from  society  for  crimes  against  it,  has  been 
adjudged  the  best  because  it  is  pre-eminently  a  profit¬ 
making,  money-gaining  system.  Such  a  decision,  based 
on  such  a  principle,  would,  or  should,  shock  the  moral 
sense  of  mankind.  It  may  be  possible  to  introduce  into 
the  profit-making  discipline,  a  means  of  moral  culture, 


9i 


promising  the  reform  of  those  who  are  subjected  to  it. 
But  so  long  as  the  profits  are  the  primary  purpose  of  the 
discipline,  the  great  aim,  punishment,  is  lost  sight  of 
because  punishment  then  is  only  incarceration  in  a  prison , 
and  the  reformation  of  the  prisoner  is  subordinate  to  the 
best  method  of  labor. 

No  regard  is  paid  to  the  effects  of  congregating  in 
a  prison,  large  numbers  of  convicts  working  together, 
when  these  prisoners  leave  the  institution  to  mix  again 
in  society.  This  consideration,  and  the  reformation  and 
individual  benefits  to  be  derived  from  proper  instruc¬ 
tion  during  punishment,  are  questions  which  if  con¬ 
sidered,  and  due  weight  given  to  their  importance,  would 
involve  loss  of  profits.  A  congregate  prison,  the  system 

of  congregating  prisoners  for  work,  unless  it  is  profit- 

/ 

making  could  not  be  regarded  as  defensible.  Its  only 
merit  now,  consists  in  the  asserted  fact  that  it  may  be 
self-supporting.  Such  are  the  sordid  influences  that  the 
system  of  money-making  prisons  begets  ;  a  system  so 
prejudicial  to  the  convict  and  society. 

REMARKS  AND  FACTS  IN  RELATION  TO  ADMINISTRATION. 

It  may  be  said,  without  fear  of  denial,  that  the  best 
system  of  prison  discipline  ever  devised  may  utterly  fail 
by  reason  of  its  bad  administration.  So  also  is  it  true  of 
a  bad  system,  it  may  produce  good  results,  provided  it  is 
well  administered.  So  much  depends  on  administration. 
The  most  important  element  in  all  administrations  is  the 
character  and  capacity  of  the  governing  power,  and  the 
adaptation  of  the  officers  to  their  duties.  It  is  to  be  re- 


92 


marked  that  the  changing  of  the  officers  for  any  reason 
other  than  unfitness,  or  impropriety  of  conduct,  is  to  be 
condemned  in  the  strongest  manner,  as  fatal  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  institution.  Political  or  sectarian  influ¬ 
ence  should  never  be  permitted  to  control  the  adminis¬ 
tration,  or  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  government  of 
a  prison.  It  produces  the  worst  possible  condition  of 
the  administration,  and  destoys  the  independence  of 
those  who  are  required  to  be  responsible  for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  peculiar  duties,  which  must  be  syste¬ 
matised,  rigidly  supervised,  and  performed  with  exactness 
and  with  a  full  understanding  that  direct  accountability 
is  demanded. 

Very  little  consideration  is  given  to  the  importance 
of  these  principles  in  prison  government.  It  is  too  often 
the  case  that  favoritism  is  made  the  ground  for  .pertina¬ 
cious  recommendations  for  positions,  when  the  want  of 
character  and  fitness  in  the  applicant  is  known  to  be 
positive.  Appointments  to  positions  should  be  in  every 
case  dependent  only  on  integrity,  character  and  special 
qualifications  for  the  duties  to  be  performed,  and  the 
tenure  should  depend  solely  on  good  conduct.  In  this 
Penitentiary  all  the  appointments  of  overseers  are  made 
by  the  Warden  without  the  intervention  of  the  Inspec¬ 
tors,  who,  however,  hold  the  Warden  responsible  therefor. 

BASIS  OF  THE  DISCIPLINE. 

It  may  better  explain  the  basis  of  the  administration 
of  the  discipline,  to  give  the  following  account  of  some 
of  the  means  adopted  to  improve  and  reform  the  pris¬ 


oners. 


93 


For  the  past  three  years,  out  of  a  total  population 
during  that  period  of  1495  persons,  only  96  were 
subjected  to  punishment  for  violating  the  rules,  for  gross 
insubordination,  or  for  other  bad  conduct ;  the  only  pun¬ 
ishment  permitted  is  a  dark  cell  and  bread  and  water. 

For  the  same  period  20,300  lessons  were  given  by 
the  secular  teachers  instructing  those  who  were  illiterate, 
or  improving  those  who  had  some  education. 

The  whole  number  of  lessons  given  by  the  moral 
instructor  was  24,296,  besides  1089  Sunday  exercises  on 
the  Sundays  of  these  years. 

There  were  28,031  newspapers,  of  all  religious  de¬ 
nominations,  distributed. 

The  library  contains  6,268  volumes,  and  for  three 
years  69,658  books  were  distributed  to  the  prisoners: 
besides  112,615  pages  of  tracts. 

Every  prisoner  is  taught  a  handicraft  occupation, 
and  when  able  to  do  the  work,  he  is  allowed  one- 
half  of  the  product  of  his  labor,  in  excess  of  his  task, 
for  his  own  use,  or  that  of  his  family.  All  those  who  are 
received  and  capable  of  learning  are  taught  to  read, 
write,  cipher  and  a  trade.  When  any  prfsoner  has  a 
decided  talent  for  either  intellectual  or  mechanical  pur¬ 
suits,  he  is  permitted  to  improve  himself  in  study,  or 
perfect  himself  in  mechanism. 

Letters  to  and  from  the  prisoners  are  forwarded  by 
the  Warden,  after  such  examination  only  as  to  provide 
against  infractions  of  the  rules.  Within  the  past  three 
years  11,275  letters  were  sent  by  prisoners,  and  18,911 
received  by  them. 

13 


% 


94 


The  influences  best  adapted  to  each  individual  as  a 
reformatory  treatment  of  his  case,  are  directly  applied. 

The  cells  are  regularly  cleaned,  and  great  attention 
is  given  to  this  subject,  and  also  to  personal  cleanliness. 

The  number  of  general  visitors  to  the  institu¬ 
tion,  for  the  past  ten  years  amounts  to  114,440.  Visits 
to  the  prisoners  are  regulated  by  a  general  rule,  but 
special  cases  are  governed  by  the  circumstances  in 
each  case. 

The  officers,  Warden,  Physician,  Moral'  Instructors 
and  Teachers  and  Overseers  in  charge,  have  constant 
intercourse  with  the  prisoners. 

Two  of  the  Inspectors  are  detailed  each  month  as 
“Visiting  Inspectors,”  who  have  the  general  duties  of 
supervision  imposed  on  them,  besides  such  special  busi¬ 
ness  in  regard  to  the  administration,  as  the  Board 
directs. 

The  “Prison  Society”  has  a  visiting  committee  which 
occupies  itself  with  visits  to  the  prisoners,  and  a  special 

officer  of  the  Society  to  look  after  discharged  prisoners. 

\ 

MEETINGS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

The  regular  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Inspectors 
are  held  monthly,  at  which  time  a  written  report  in  detail 
is  required  from  the  Treasurer,  Warden,  Physician,  Moral 
Instructor  and  Secular  Instructor.  Bills  are  at  the  same 
time  submitted  by  the  Warden  for  all  purchases  made  by 
him  since  the  preceding  meeting,  their  payment,  how¬ 
ever,  not  being  ordered  by  the  Board  until,  upon  exami¬ 
nation,  by  a  committee  of  the  Board,  they  are  found  to 


« 


95 


be  correct.  The  Warden  is  also  required  by  law  to  keep 
a  journal  and  enter  therein,  daily,  all  events  happening 
in  the  Penitentiary,  including  all  cases  of  punishment  or 
discipline,  open  to  the  examination  of  the  Inspectors. 

» 

ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE  INSPECTORS  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

From  the  first  year  of  the  opening  of  the  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  1829,  annually,  as  by  law  required,  the  Inspectors 
have  made  to  the  Legislature  of  the  State  reports  on  the 
condition  of  the  Institution.  These  reports  are  exhaustive 
on  all  the  subjects  connected  with  the  administration  of 
the  Penitentiary.  The  views  of  the  Inspectors  as  to  the 
system  of  separate  or  individual-treatment  of  convicts 
are  presented,  and  such  suggestions  are  from  time  to 
time  made  as  directly  relate  to  the  cause  of  crime,  legisla¬ 
tion  for  the  prevention  and  punishment  of  offenders,  and 
also  the  opinions  of  the  Inspectors  on  the  proper  means 
by  which  the  effects  of  punishment  are  most  surely  pro¬ 
duced.  Each  annual  report  is  accompanied  by  statistical 
tables  most  carefully  prepared  from  the  best  sources  of 
information,  in  which  the  most  thorough  exposition  of 
the  relations,  physical,  moral  and  mental,  of  each  pris¬ 
oner  on  admission  and  discharge  is  shown. 

It  is  believed  that  no  more  full  and  complete  exhibit 
of  any  institution  can  be  found  than  is  thus  afforded. 

The  student  of  penal  science,  in  its  relations  to 
social  science,  jurisprudence,  systems  of  punishment, 

.  1 

prison  discipline,  the  effects  of  imprisonment  by  the  sepa¬ 
rate  system  on  all  who  are  subjected  to  it,  can  obtain  in 
these  reports  most  valuable  information.  There  are  now 


96 


printed  and  published  43  of  these  reports  with  full  tabular 
statistical  exhibits,  and  in  order  that  those  who  desire  to 
learn  how  much  has  been  done  by  the  Inspectors  for  the 
past  few  years,  for  the  information  of  those  who  take  any 
interest  in  investigating  the  questions  involved,  i.t  may  be 
stated  that  each  of  the  more  recent  annual  reports  con¬ 
tain  about  1 50  pages  of  printed  matter. 

RECEIVING  BOOK. 


The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  “Receiving  Book” 
which  has  been  in  use  in  this  Penitentiary  for  nearly  40 
years : 


No. 

Age, 

Native  of, 

Bound, 

Apprenticed  : 

Trade, 

and  left  before  end  of  term  of 

Complexion, 

apprenticeship. 

Eyes, 

and  served  until  expiration  of 

Hair, 

term. 

Stature, 

Marks, 

No.  of  Convictions, 
Parents, 

Went  to  Public  School, 

Reads, 

“  Private  “ 

Writes, 

Age  on  Leaving  “ 

Temperate, 

Married, 

Property, 

Crime, 

Sentence, 

County  and  Court, 
Sentenced, 

Received, 

• 

Remarks, 

* 

97 


A  COPY  OF  THE  MEDICAL  GENERAL  RECORD  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


V 

e 

cS 

z 


Color. 


rC 

£ 


o 

d 

5 


J3 

*g 


<u 

bo 


Sex. 


d 

E 

V 

£ 


Social 

State. 


H3 

<U 


§ 


bJ3 

g 

c/5 


^  x 
£  o 

cj  CU 
V  G2 

o  g 

Ah  CO 


'S  « 
"-S 

<u  ^ 

W.S 


i  £ 

5  O 
iCJ 


<D 

u 

G 

<D 

4-i 

G 

<U 

C/3 


bo 

G 

u 

1-3 


G 

G 

O 

CJ 


G 

Jh 

o 

PQ 


G 

.2 

d 

a 

G 

O 

o 

o 


A  COPY  OF  THE  MEDICAL  GENERAL  RECORD  OF  DISCHARGES. 


FORM  OF  MEDICAL  MONTHLY  REPORT. 


Name. 

No. 

Color. 

Age. 

Sex. 

Date  of  Admission. 

Time  in  Prison. 

Disease. 

Cause.' 

Event. 

Monthly  Summary, 
Remarks,  &c. 

White. 

Black. 

Mulatto. 

Male. 

Female. 

Cured. 

Relieved. 

Time  Out. 

Pardoned. 

Dead. 

98 


MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

The  health  of  the  large  number  of  inmates  of  a 
Penitentiary  is  a  subject  of  careful  attention.  After 
much  experience  and  reflection,  the  Inspectors  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  importance  of  the  interests 
involved,  required  that  a  competent  physician  should 
permanently  reside  upon  the  premises,  so  as  to  be  con¬ 
stantly  at  hand,  by  day  or  night,  whenever  an  occasion 
should  arise  for  his  services.  This  has  been  found  much 
more  satisfactory  than  the  system  of  a  visiting  physician 
from  without.  Medical  visits,  of  which  a  daily  record  is 
kept,  are  constantly  and  systematically  made  by  the  Res¬ 
ident  Physician  to  every  prisoner,  and  each  new  recipient 
into  the  Institution  undergoes,  upon  his  admission,  a 
thorough  and  medical  examination,  the  results  of  which 
are  fully  recorded.  An  ample  assortment  of  medical 
supplies  is  kept  in  the  apothecary  shop  of  the  Peniten- 
tiary,  which  is  under  the  charge  of  the  Resident  Physician. 

THE  DISCHARGE  OF  PRISONERS. 

It  is  of  great  importance  where  a  Penitentiary, 
located  in  a  city,  receives  inmates  from  a  distance,  that 
they  should  when  discharged,  be  immediately  sent  to  the 
localities  whence  they  came,  and  not  be  exposed  to  the 
temptations  of  the  city.  In  order  to  accomplish  this 
beneficial  object,  the  Inspectors  have  obtained  authority, 
by  an  Act  of  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  give,  if  it  should  be  needed,  to  each  prisoner  upon  his 
discharge,  a  specified  sum  of  money,  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  his  traveling  expenses  to  the  county  from  which  he 
came,  viz :  $5.00  under  fifty  and  $  10.00  over  fifty  miles. 


OF 'ft* 

own®*1* 


WJW® 


Interior  View  of  Cell ,  taken  from  the  Corridor. 


Interior  View  of  Cell,  taken  from  the  Yard  of  the  Cell. 


99 


The  “Prison  Society”  also,  as  a  part  of  its  benevo¬ 
lent  operations,  takes  care  that  each  prisoner  upon  his 
discharge,  shall  if  his  necessities  require  it,  be  supplied 
with  such  clothing  as  shall  enable  him  to  present  a 
proper  appearance  when  he  rejoins  his  family  or  friends. 

RULES  FOR  THE  PRISONER. 

•  '  *  , 

In  each  cell  there  is  a  printed  copy  of  these  Rules : 

“You  are  desired  strictly  to  observe  the  following  Rules 

established  by  the  Inspectors  for  your  government 

First. — You  must  keep  your  person,  cell  and  utensils 
clean  and  in  order. 

Second. — You  must  obey  promptly,  all  directions  given 

\  • 

to  you,  either  by  the  Inspectors,  Warden,  or  Overseers. 

Third. — You  must  not  make  any  unnecessary  noise, 
either  by  singing,  whistling,  or  in  any  other  manner ;  but 
in  all  respects  preserve  becoming  order.  You  must  not 
try  to  communicate  with  your  fellow-prisoners  in  the 
.adjoining  cells,  either  from  your  own  apartment,  or 
during  the  time  you  are  exercising  in  your  yard. 

Fourth. — All  surplus  food  must  be  placed  in  the 
vessel  provided  for  that  purpose;  and  all  wastage  of 
materials,  or  other  dirt,  must  be  carefully  collected  and 
handed  out  of  the  cell,  when  called  for  by  the  Overseer. 

Fifth. — You  must  apply  yourself  industriously,  at 
whatever  employment  is  assigned  you;  and  when  your 
task  is  finished,  it  is  recommended  that  your  time  be 
devoted  to  the  proper  improvement  of  your  mind,  either 
in  reading  the  books  provided  for  the  purpose,  or  in  case 
you  cannot  read,  in  learning  to  do  so. 


I 


IOO 


Sixth. — Should  you  have  any  complaint  to  make 
against  the  Overseer  having  charge  of  you,  make  it  to 
the  Warden  or  Inspector — if  against  the  Warden  to  an 
Inspector. 

Seventh. — Be  at  all  times,  in  your  intercourse  with 
the  officers  of  the  Penitentiary,  respectful  and  courteous, 
and  never,  suffer  yourself  to  be  led  astray  from  your 
duties,  by  angry  or  revengeful  feelings. 

Eighth. — Observe  the  Sabbath;  though  you  are 
separated  from  the  world,  the  day  is  not  the  less  holy. 

The  Inspectors  desire  to  treat  every  prisoner  under 
their  charge  with  humanity  and  kindness;  and  they  hope 
that  in  return,  the  prisoner  will  strictly  conform  to  the 
rules  adopted  for  his  government,  which  are  not  merely 
advisory,  but  are  a  law  to  him,  especially  the  third,  any 
violation  of  which  will  incur  proper  punishment. 

Special  Notice. — Violations  of  these  rules  or  any 
part  of  the  discipline  of  the  Institution,  will  deprive  the 
prisoner  of  the  benefit  of  the  “Commutation  Law.” 

N.  B. — Not  to  be  defaced  in  any  manner. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  BOOKS  AND  DIRECTIONS  TO  OBTAIN  WHAT 


ARE  DESIRED. 


Whole  number  of  Volumes  in  Library: 

English,  ...... 

German,  ..... 

French,  etc.  .  .  . 

Spanish,  6  ;  Italian,  2  ;  Latin,  3  ;  . 


5445 

771 

41 


1 1 


Character  of  English  Books: — 

Religious,  .... 
Instructive,  .... 
Entertaining, 


773 

135° 

3467 


IOI 


Character  of  German  Books: — 

Religious,  ........  320 

Instructive,  ........  105 

Entertaining,  346 


DIRECTIONS  TO  PRISONERS  FOR  SELECTING  BOOKS. 

Draw  two  lines  down  the  back  of  your  card-slate, 
and  write  over  the  spaces  three  headings,  thus : — 


RELIGIOUS. 

INSTRUCTIVE. 

ENTERTAINING. 

The  numbers  of  new  books  will  be  put  down  as 
classed  in  the  Supplement. 

Keep  your  card-slate  clean,  and  hang  up  with  cata¬ 
logue  when  not  in  use. 

Use  only  the  back  of  card-slate  for  putting  down 
numbers. 

Leave  upon  the  slate  any  numbers  placed  there  by 
the  Librarian,  and  when  any  one  of  your  numbers  are 
crossed  out  as  filled,  replace  them  with  fresh  ones,  so  as 
to  keep  at  least  30  numbers  constantly  on  your  slate  for 
the  Librarian  to  select  from. 

Endeavor  to  make  your  figures  neat  and  plain,  and 
renew  them  if  not  easily  read. 

By  conforming  to  these  rules,  and  putting  down 
numbers  from  the  three  divisions, — Religious ,  Instructive , 
and  Entertaining ,  you  will  be  more  likely  to  receive  such 
books  as  you  prefer,  or  have  not  already  had,  than  if 
numbers  from  only  one  division  are  put  down. 


14 


102 


These  rules  are  found  to  be  necessary  to  insure  a 
just  distribution  of  the  books,  and  it  is  hoped  they  will  be 
strictly  conformed  to.  When  such  is  not  the  case,  a 
book  will  be  selected  at  the  discretion  of  the  Librarian, 
which  will  not  be  exchanged,  except  at  the  regular  period 
for  doing  so. 

TABLE 


Showing  Number  of  Prisoners  in  receipt  of  Books ,  and  Number  of  Books  distributed , 

during  the  year  1871. 


January. 

February. 

March. 

April. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

Total. 

Books . 

Prisoners . 

Average . 

2584 

583 

4-43 

2.549 

577 

4-43 

3403 

567 

6.00 

2630 

547 

4.80 

2698 

530 

5.09 

2819 

542 

5.zi 

2552 

509 

5.02 

2695 

501 

5.58 

2802 

508 

5.51 

2843 

523 

5-43 

8252 

527 

6.17 

3022 

528 

5.72 

33894 

536 

64.23 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE  TABLES. 

The  following  tables  are  prepared  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  between  the  years  1829  and  ’49,  and 
between  ’49  and  ’72,  the  attention  of  the  Inspectors  has 
been  directed  to  the  investigation  of  the  effects  of  the 
separate  or  individual-treatment  system  on  the  convicts. 
The  first  period  has  been  designated  as  that  of  experi¬ 
ence  and  experiment,  the  latter  of  development  and 
progress.  These  tables  have  been  prepared  from  the 
statistics  presented  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  Inspec¬ 
tors  to  the  Legislature.  It  will  be  observed  that  during 
the  period  of  development  and  progress,  the  statistics 
have  gradually  become  of  increasing  value.  The  subjects 
have  also  grown  in  importance,  and  the  contrast,  it  is 
believed,  will  be  indicated  by  these  statistical  exhibits. 


Comparing  the  number  of  Counties  sending  Prisoners  to  the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary ,  the  number  of  Prisoners  received ,  their  Ages  and  Local  Relations  from 
1829  to  1849,  with  those  from  1850  to  1871,  as  given  in  the  Yearly  Reports  of  the  Inspectors  ;  or ,  exhibiting  the  yearly  increase  of  Statistical  information 
on  these  characteristics. 


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io7 


GENERAL  STATEMENT  OF  THE  PECULIAR  FEATURES  OF  THE 
ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE  INSPECTORS. 

In  the  Reports  for  1830,  1831,  1832,  statements 
showing  the  prisoner’s  number,  age,  sex,  place  of  nativ¬ 
ity,  when  sentenced,  sentence,  crime,  at  what  court  tried, 
number  of  convictions  and  when  and  how  discharged. 

In  the  Report  for  1835,  statements  of  prisoners 
received  and  discharged,  with  their  age,  sex,  color, 
crime,  etc.,  etc. 

In  the  Report  for  1839,  tables  of  the  sickness  of  white 
and  colored  prisoners  on  admission,  also  tables  of  sickness 
during  imprisonment  of  the  white  and  colored  prisoners 
discharged  during  the  year.  Tables  of  the  mental  dis¬ 
orders  in  Eastern  State  Penitentiary  during  1839. 

In  the  Report  for  1845,  tables  showing  the  number 
of  prisoners  received  at  different  ages,  their  health  on 
admission,  the  proportion  that  improved  or  died  between 
different  periods  of  imprisonment,  with  their  employ¬ 
ments  in  the  institution.  Tabular  view  of  the  fatal  cases 
from  the  reception  of  the  first  convict  to  December 

3E  I^45* 

In  the  Reports  from  1846  to  1852,  tables  of  the  fatal 
cases  in  Eastern  State  Penitentiary. 

In  the  Reports  from  1847  to  1 8 7 1 ,  tables  of  the 
occupation  of  convicts  before  they  were  convicted. 

In  the  Reports  from  1854  to  1871,  tables  showing 
the  occupation  of  convicts  in  Eastern  State  Penitentiary. 

In  the  Report  for  1854,  special  statements  of  con¬ 
victs  received  and  discharged  in  that  year. 


io8 


In  the  Reports  from  1855  to  1871,  tables  of  the 
physical  and  mental  condition  of  the  prisoners  in  con¬ 
finement  for  each  year. 

In  the  Report  for  1855,  general  summary  of  the 
convicts  in  confinement  during  the  year,  with  their 
different  relations,  various*  characteristics,  crimes,  sen¬ 
tences,  etc.,  etc. 

In  the  Reports  from  1856  to  1871,  tables  of  crimes 
and  sentences  of  convicts  under  25  years  of  age. 

In  the  Reports  from  1859  to  1871,  exhibits  of  the 
receptions  and  discharges  each  year,  with  the  age,  sex, 
color,  place  of  nativity,  crime,  sentence,  etc.,  etc. 

In  the  Report  from  1863,  a  special  report  on  recon¬ 
victions  to  Eastern  State  Penitentiary  from  October  25, 
1829,  to  April  25,  1863,  with  statistical  tables. 

In  the  Report  for  1864,  statistical  tables  of  the  age, 
sex,  color,  crimes,  sentences,  social,  moral,  educational, 
industrial  and  local  relations  of  the  whole  number  of 
minor  convicts  received.  A  report  on  the  effects  of 
confinement  under  the  congregate  and  separate  systems 
with  statistical  tables. 

In  the  Report  for  1865,  a  special  report  with  statis¬ 
tical  tables  on  pardoned  prisoners.  Statistical  tables  of 
age,  color,  sex,  crimes,  sentences,  social,  moral,  educa¬ 
tional  and  industrial  relations,  etc.,  of  convicts  25  years 
of  age  and  under.  Statistical  tables  of  age,  color,  sex, 
crimes,  sentences,  social,  moral,  educational  and  industrial 
relations  of  army  prisoners. 

In  the  Report  for  1866,  a  special  report  with  statisti¬ 
cal  tables  of  convicts,  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 


109 


In  the  Reports  from  1866  to  1871,  tables  respecting 
pardoned  prisoners. 

In  the  Reports  from  1867  to  1871,  statements  show¬ 
ing  overwork  made  by  prisoners  in  Eastern  State  Peni¬ 
tentiary  last  year. 

In  the  Report  for  1867,  a  special  report  on  educa¬ 
tional  and  parental  relations  of  prisoners  with  statistical 
tables. 

In  the  Reports  from  1868  to  1871,  tables  comparing 
education  versus  crimes,  and  education  versus  ages. 
Tables  showing  the  number  of  deaths  annually  from  the 
opening  of  the  Penitentiary,  among  the  white  and  colored 
population,  with  the  per  cents  of  each  class. 

In  the  Reports  for  1870  and  1871,  tables  showing 
the  number  of  convicts  natives  of  the  United  States,  Ire¬ 
land  and  Germany,  respectively,  and  the  crimes  com¬ 
mitted  by  them,  from  the  opening  of  the  Penitentiary. 
Tables  showing  the  number  of  Clerks,  or  prisoners  so 
educated  on  admission. 

Tables  showing  the  mental  health  of  convicts  on 
admission  and  discharge  from  1851  ;  also,  tables  showing 
the  number  of  prisoners  in  Eastern  State  Penitentiary 
who  have  become  insane  from  1851,  with  their  mental 
condition  on  reception  and  discharge,  etc. 

Tables  showing  the  physical  and  mental  condition  of 
prisoners  received. 

In  the  Report  for  1871,  tables  showing  the  various 
characteristics  of  prisoners  admitted  during  the  year  as 
received  from  the  different  counties.  Table  showing  the 


15 


I  IO 


physical  and  mental  health  on  admission  and  discharge 
of  prisoners. 

Necrological  statement  showing  the  white  and  col¬ 
ored  population  each  year  from  the  opening  of  the  Peni¬ 
tentiary,  the  number  of  deaths  occurring  annually,  the 
health  on  admission  of  those  who  died,  their  social  and 
moral  relations,  the  cause  of  their  death  and  the  period 
they  were  confined  before  death. 

POPULAR  PREJUDICES  AGAINST  THE  SEPARATE  SYSTEM. 

The  volume  entitled  “American  Notes,”  by  Mr. 
Charles  Dickens,  has  had  a  large  circulation  in  Europe 
and  America.  From  his  description  of  the  Eastern 
Penitentiary,  an  impression  has  doubtless  been  made 
on  the  minds  of  many  persons  corresponding  to  his 
published  idea  of  the  Institution.  He  thus  writes  in 
regard  to  it : 

“  In  the  outskirts,  stands  a  great  prison  called  the  Eastern  Peni¬ 
tentiary,  conducted  on  a  plan  peculiar  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  system  here  is  rigid,  strict,  and  hopeless  solitary  confinement,  I 
believe  it  in  its  effects  to  be  cruel  and  wrong.  In  its  intention,  I  am 
well  convinced  that  it  is  kind,  humane,  and  meant  for  reformation ; 
but  I  am  persuaded  that  those  who  devised  this  system  of  prison  dis¬ 
cipline,  and  those  benevolent  gentlemen  who  carry  it  into  execution 
do  not  know  what  it  is  that  they  are  doing.  I  believe  that  very  few 
men  are  capable  of  estimating  the  immense  amount  of  torture  and 
agony  which  this  dreadful  punishment  prolonged  for  years  inflicts  upon 
the  sufferers,  and  in  guessing  at  it  myself,  and  in  reasoning  from  what 
I  have  seen  written  upon  their  faces,  and  what  to  my  certain  know¬ 
ledge  they  feel  within,  I  am  only  the  more  convinced  that  there  is  a 
depth  of  terrible  endurance  in  it  which  none  but  the  sufferers  them¬ 
selves  can  fathom,  and  which  no  man  has  a  right  to  inflict  upon  his 
fellow  creature.  *  *  I  was  accompanied  to  this  prison  by  two  gen¬ 

tlemen  officially  connected  with  its  management,  and  passed  the  day 


1 1 1 


in  going  from  cell  to  cell  and  talking  with  the  inmates.  Every  facility 
was  afforded  me  that  utmost  courtesy  could  suggest.  Nothing  was 
concealed  or  hidden  from  my  view,  and  every  piece  of  information 
that  I  sought  was  openly  and  frankly  given.  *  *  *  In  another 

cell  there  was  a  German  sentenced  to  five  years  imprisonment  for  lar¬ 
ceny,  two  of  which  had  just  expired.  With  colors  procured  in  the 
same  manner  he  had  painted  every  inch  of  the  walls  and  ceiling  quite 
beautifully.  He  had  laid  out  the  few  feet  of  ground  behind  with  ex¬ 
quisite  neatness,  and  had  made  a  little  bed  in  the  centre  that  looked, 
by  the  bye,  like  a  grave.  The  taste  and  ingenuity  he  had  displayed 
in  every  thing  were  most  extraordinary ;  and  yet  a  more  dejected, 
heart-broken,  wretched  creature  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine.  I 
never  saw  such  a  picture  of  forlorn  affliction  and  distress  of  mind. 
My  heart  bled  for  him,  and  when  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  and 
he  took  one  of  the  visitors  aside  to  ask  with  trembling  hands  nervously 
clutching  at  his  coat  to  detain  him,  whether  there  was  no  hope  of  his 
dismal  sentence  being  commuted,  the  spectacle  was  really  too  painful 
to  witness.  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  any  kind  of  misery  that  impressed 
me  more  than  the  wretchedness  of  this  man.” — American  Notes ,  voL 
2,  page  246,  A.  Z>.,  1842. 

Mr.  Dickens  visited  at  his  own  special  request  the 
Eastern  Penitentiary.  He  remarked,  when  asking  for  an 
opportunity  to  examine  the  Institution,  that  “  the  Falls  of 
Niagara  and  your  Penitentiary  are  two  objects  I  might 
almost  say  I  most  wish  to  see  in  America.,,  His  visit 
was  thorough.  He  saw  everything  in  the  Penitentiary, 
and  all  the  prisoners  that  he  chose  to  visit.  When  about 
to  leave,  he  remarked  to  Mr.  Bevan,  the  President  of  the 
Board,  that  he  “  Never  before  saw  a  public  institution  in 
which  the  relation  of  “father  and  family”  was  so  well 
exemplified  as  in  this.”  Not  one  word  of  criticism  or 
objection  was  then  or  there  made.  He  did  not  even 
express  a  doubt  of  the  success  of  separate  confinement 
as  a  system  of  prison  discipline.  How  could  he,  for  he 
never  understood  it?  On  his  return  to  England,  his 


I  12 


“Notes”  were  published,  from  which  the  foregoing 
extract  is  taken.  Mr.  Dickens’  recollections  of  his  early 
life,  and  the  impression  then  made  on  him  by  its 
associations  and  privations,  perhaps  gave,  beyond  his 
power  of  detection,  the  coloring  to  his  description  of 
the  Penitentiary.  His  delineation  of  character  is 
marked  by  the  strong  contrasts  which  he  paints  in  his 
fictions,  and,  therefore,  his  account  of  his  visit  to  the 
“solitary  prison”  may  be  presumed  to  be  exaggerated 
or  untrustworthy.  The  case  of  the  German  prisoner 
which  has  been  given  in  full  from  the  “Notes,”  justifies 
this  remark. 

This  German  prisoner,  this  “picture  of  forlorn  afflic¬ 
tion  and  distress  of  mind,”  this  “dejected,  heart-broken, 
wretched  creature”  was  sentenced  to  this  Penitentiary 
for  the  first  time,  May  15,  1840,  for  five  years;  on 
June  28,  1852,  he  was  sent  to  this  Penitentiary  for 
one  year;  February  24,  1855,  he  was  a  third  time  con¬ 
victed  to  this  prison  for  two  years;  April  4,  1861,  he 
came  again  for  one  year;  on  the  12th  of  March,  1872, 
he  returned  to  this  Penitentiary  for  two  years.  Thus 
this  “picture  of  forlorn  affliction  and  distress  of  mind,” 
is  now  a  living,  hale,  hearty  man  of  seventy-two  years 
of  age,  having  served  out  nine  years  of  imprisonment, 
under  five  different  sentences  in  this  penitentiary,  with 
all  its  horrors  and  cruelty,  such  as  “no  man  has  a  right 
to  inflict  on  his  fellow  man:”  while  the  author  of  the 
“American  Notes,”  notwithstanding  his  associations  and 
journeyings,  and  his  life  in  the  midst  of  pleasure  and 
friends,  sleeps  with  “  David  Copperfield.” 


So  much  for  crude  and  emodonal  criticism  on  an 
Institution  in  which  punishment  is  considered  with  the 
care,  deliberation  and  thoughtfulness  devoted  to  any 
other  scientific  question. 

MODERN  ADVOCATES  OF  THE  SEPARATE  SYSTEM. 

Since  De  Tocqueville,  of  France,  wrote  his  report  on 
prison  discipline,  there  have  been  several  learned  and 
eminent  men  who  have  carefully  investigated  the  subject 
of  individual-treatment  of  convicts  as  applied  under  the 
separate  system.  In  Italy,  Belgium  and  England,  many 
students  of  penal  science,  as  well  as  those  conversant 
practically  with  this  subject,  have  published  most  interest¬ 
ing  papers  in  defence  of  cellular  imprisonment. 

In  Philadelphia  there  have  been  contributed  exhaus¬ 
tive  arguments  and  statistical  information,  derived  from 
the  actual  condition  of  the  administration  of  the  separate 
system  at  the  Penitentiary  in  that  city,  both  in  the  reports 
of  the  Inspectors  to  the  Legislature,  and  from  other 
sources.  Special  reference  is  here  made  to  William 
Parker  Foulke’s  “  Remarks  on  Cellular  Separation,” 
Phila.,  1871  ;  and  “Journal  of  Prison  Discipline,  Phila.,” 
by  the  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Chandler.  The  contributions  by 
Francis  Lieber,  L.L.D.,  on  the  Pennsylvania  system  are 
well  known.  In  this  connection  it  is  most  proper  to 
refer  to  the  book  of  the  Rev.  J.  Field,  Chaplain  of  the 
Reading  (England)  Gaol,  entitled  “Prison  Discipline 
and  the  Advantages  of  the  Separate  System  of  Imprison¬ 
ment,”  2  vol.,  London,  1848,  Longman,  Brown,  Green  & 
Co.,  Publishers. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  SOME  OF  THE  ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE 
INSPECTORS  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


In  the  Report  of  1830,  the  Inspectors  write: 

Believing  that  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  discipline  established 
in  the  Western  State  Penitentiary,  near  Pittsburg,  (in  regard  to  which 
from  rumor  there  was  some  uncertainty,)  might  be  useful  in  estimating 
the  operation  of  that  in  the  East,  the  President  of  the  Board  visited 
that  Institution  in  June  last,  to  ascertain  from  personal  inspection,  the 
character  of  the  experiment  there  made,  and,  it  is  trusted,  the  Board 
can  in  no  wise  be  regarded  as  reflecting  upon  the  highly  respectable 
gentlemen  who  superintend  that  prison,  constructed,  as  it  confessedly 
was,  for  solitary  confinement,  unmitigated  by  labour,  in  the  remarks 
here  submitted.  The  ranges  of  cells  being  too  small  and  not  suffi¬ 
ciently  ventilated  and  lighted  to  be  used  as  workshops,  appeared  to  be 
principally  used  as  dormitories,  and  he  was  induced  to  believe,  that 
convicts  could  not  be  advantageously  employed  therein  at  solitary 
labour.  The  building  being  also  unprovided  with  separate  yards  for 
the  different  cells,  it  became  necessary  to  the  health  of  the  prisoners 
to  allow  them  to  associate  with  each  other  in  the  common  yards,  in 
which  the  sexes  only  appeared  to  be  separated.  The  result  of  this 
visit  was,  a  belief  that  no  inference  can  be  drawn  from  the  situation 
of  a  prison  thus  constructed,  (as  some  unfriendly  to  the  system  appeared 
to  think,)  prejudicial  to  the  permanency  of  the  greatly  successful 
experiment  of  its  operation  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  in  which 
every  prisoner  is  provided  with  a  separate  cell,  of  ample  dimensions, 
and  with  sufficient  light,  communicating  with  a  separate  yard,  for  air 
and  exercise. 

Unbiased  by  the  speculations  of  enthusiastic  theorists,  on  either 
side,  and  unbending  to  the  authority  of  names,  whatever  their  repute, 
the  Legislature  of  this  Commonwealth,  by  its  statute  of  the  23d  of 
April,  1829,  so  far  as  concerned  the  offences  embraced  in  that  act, 
committed  the  ancient  penitentiary  system  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  test 
of  actual  experiment,  in  a  building  adequate  to  the  purpose,  content 
to  abide  the  event,  before  it  should  be  abandoned,  or  extended  to 
the  whole  calendar  of  penitentiary  offences.  That  system,  however 
imperfectly  enforced  heretofore,  owing  to  the  faulty  construction  of 
our  prisons,  this  board  considers  to  be  briefly  this  ;  solitary  confinement 
at  labour ,  with  instruction  in  labour ,  in  morals,  and  in  religio?i.  The 
noble  structure  under  the  direction  of  the  Board,  so  honourable  to  the 


liberality  and  philanthropy  of  the  State,  has  for  the  first  time  presented 
the  opportunity  of  effectually  enforcing  this  mode  of  punishing  and 
reforming  the  violators  of  the  laws  of  society.  In  accordance  with 
the  views  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  faithful  execution  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  the  Board,  it  is  now  proposed  to  express  a  judgment  founded 
on  actual  experience,  of  the  operation  of  solitary  confinement  with 
labour  and  instruction,  upon  the  moral  and  physical  powers  of  the 
convicts,  and  of  the  probable  expense  to  the  counties  of  maintaining 
their  prisoners. 

The  evidence  of  the  physician,  with  the  concurring  testimony  of 
the  warden,  whose  respective  reports  to  the  Board  are  annexed,  and 
the  particular  observation  of  this  Board,  establish  the  fact,  that  neither 
insanity,  nor  bodily  infirmity,  has  been  produced  by  the  mitigated 
solitude  in  which  the  prisoners  are  confined.  Absolute  solitude  for 
years,  without  labour  or  moral  or  religious  instruction,  probably  does 
bear  too  severely  upon  a  social  being  like  man,  and  were  such  the 
mode  of  punishment  in  this  Institution,  the  Board  would  feel  little 
hesitation  in  recommending  its  repeal,  as  cruel,  because  calculated  to 
undermine  the  moral  and  physical  powers  of  the  prisoner,  and  to 
disqualify  him  from  earning  his  bread  at  the  expiration  of  his  sentence; 
as  impolitic,  because,  when  persisted  in  beyond  a  very  limited  time, 
it  tends  to  harden  rather  than  reform  the  offender,  while  it  produces 
great  expense  to  the  public,  the  prisoner  in  no  way  contributing  by 
labour  to  his  support.  An  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  effects  of 
absolute  solitude  without  labour  has  occasionally  been  presented,  when, 
as  a  punishment  to  a  sturdy  and  disorderly  convict,  the  warden  has 
ordered  the  light  of  his  cell  to  be  closed ;  little  time  has  elapsed  with 
the  most  hardy,  before  the  prisoner  has  been  found  broken  down  in 
his  spirit,  and  begging  for  his  work  and  his  bible,  to  beguile  the  tedium 
of  absolute  idleness  in  solitude. 

From  the  Report  of  the  year  1834,  the  following 
extract  is  taken: 

The  Pennsylvania  system  is  emphatically  a  mild  and  humane  sys¬ 
tem.  Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  condition  of  the  majority  of 
those  who  become  subject  to  its  regulation.  We  find  them  living  a 
hurried  and  thoughtless  life  of  hourly  excitement,  and  shuddering  at 
the  possibility  of  a  pause  which  could  let  in  (to  them  the  demon) 
reflection.  W6  see  them  wanting  the  ordinary  comforts  of  clothing 
and  cleanliness,  without  home  save  that  afforded  by  chance  compan¬ 
ionship.  We  find  them  in  the  brothel  and  the  gin-shop,  giving  up  to 


1 1 6 


all  manner  of  excesses,  indulging  in  every  extreme  of  vice,  self- 
degraded  and  brutal.  We  see  them  corrupted  and  corrupting,  initia¬ 
ting  new  candidates  in  the  race  of  misery  and  dragging  them  in  their 
own  vortex  to  a  death  of  infamy  and  horror.  Where  do  we  place 
them,  and  how  do  we  treat  them  ?  They  are  taken  to  the  bath  and 
cleansed  of  outward  pollution,  they  are  new  clad  in  warm  and  com¬ 
fortable  garments,  they  are  placed  in  an  apartment  infinitely  superior  to 
what  they  have  been  accustomed,  they  are  given  employment  to  enable 
them  to  live  by  their  own  industry,  they  are  addressed  in  the  language 
of  kindness,  interest  is  shown  in  their  present  and  future  welfare,  they 
are  advised  and  urged  to  think  of  their  former  course  and  to  avoid  it, 
they  are  lifted  gently  from  their  state  of  humiliation  ;  self-degradation 
is  removed,  and  self-esteem  inducted.  Pride  of  character  and  manli¬ 
ness  is  inculcated,  and  they  go  out  of  prison  unknown  as  convicts, 
determined  to  wrestle  for  a  living  in  the  path  of  honesty  and  virtue. 
Is  not  this  humane  ?  The  object  of  all  prison  establishments  should  be 
to  reclaim.  The  separation  of  convicts  affords  facilities  (which  would 
be  impossible  under  other  circumstances,)  to  treat  each  individual  case 
in  a  manner  best  adapted  to  that  result.  There  are  no  doubt  some 
criminals  who  are  incorrigible,  but  even  with  these  the  vindictive  feelings 
usually  generated  by  prison  discipline  find  no  place,  and  they  leave  the 
establishment  with  sentiments  of  regard  rather  than  resentment,  towards 
those  who  have  attempted  to  alter  their  vicious  habits.  We  are  un¬ 
willing  to  make  any  remarks  which  may  appear  invidious,  but  we  ask 
that  a  single  glance  shall  be  taken  at  any  of  the  other  plans  now  in 
operation,  and  then  let  it  be  answered  whether  the  Pennsylvania  system 

f 

does  not  possess  distinctive  features,  which  entirely  change  the  relation¬ 
ship  of  prisoners  towards  society,  and  whether  it  does  not  embrace  an 
extensive  plan  of  amelioration  of  their  condition. 

In  the  Report  for  1836,  the  Inspectors  say: 

Although  a  definite  labor  appears  to  be  assigned,  yet  inasmuch  as 
the  Inspectors  may  be  looked  upon  as  public  agents  in  this  particular 
department,  it  is  hoped  they  will  not  be  considered  as  stepping  out  of 
their  province  if  they  take  a  more  enlarged  view  of  the  subject  than 
these  limits  seem  to  prescribe.  The  present  Inspectors  stand  in  a  pe¬ 
culiar  relation  to  the  Commonwealth,  they  were  the  friends  and  associates 
of  the  promoters  of  the  system,  and  were  in  the  habit  of  discussing 
the  subject  of  Penitentiary  regulations  in  all  its  bearings.  They  were 
fully  imbued  with  the  principles  and  views  of  its  advocates,  and  the 
majority  of  them  took  an  active  part  in  calling  into  operation  the  schemes 


ii  7 

of  those  who  felt  the  necessity  of  a  reform  in  the  criminal  jurisprudence 
of  the  State. 

The  experiment  at  the  time  was  a  bold  one,  and  was  attended  with 
difficulties  at  its  commencement  that  would  have  damped  the  courage 
of  any  set  of  men  less  persuaded  of  the  practicability  of  a  plan  which 
years  of  deliberation  had  decided  to  be  the  true  one.  Opposed  at  home 
by  a  respectable  number  of  our  fellow  citizens,  who,  with  views  quite  as 
honest,  held  adverse  opinions ;  its  main  principles  questioned  by  a  com¬ 
mission  of  our  own  State  especially  instituted  to  examine  the  subject; 
assailed  by  the  official  agent  of  an  influential  and  indefatigable  society  of 
a  sister  State,  because  it  conflicted  with  his  favourite  system :  attacked 
from  abroad  by  persons  of  high  consideration  in  the  moral  and  political 
world,  who  had  become  endeared  to  America  by  their  military  and  other 
services,  the  friends  of  the  Pennsylvania  system  held  their  course  un¬ 
checked,  and  with  steadiness  and  perseverance  worthy  the  cause,  made 
their  opinions  public  sentiment,  and  the  State  at  length  passed  the  law 
which  will  render  her  character  for  philanthropy  pre-eminent. 

The  experiment  at  the  outset  was  attended  with  an  expense  which 
even  a  great  nation  has  paused  to  incur,  and  is  only  to  be  reconciled  by 
the  prevalent  humanity  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  which  yearned 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  her  criminals,  and  to  substitute  a  moral 
and  wholesome  atmosphere  in  lieu  of  the  vicious  miasma  which  pervades 
great  communities. 

Accustomed  to  look  at  the  great  results  of  the  law,  the  Inspectors 
hold  themselves  excused,  if  in  attempting  to  satisfy  the  public  mind  as 
to  the  wisdom  of  the  measure,  they  should  take  a  more  comprehensive 
view  of  the  subject  than  may  seem  to  be  required  by  the  letter  of  the 
act  of  their  appointment.  Being  called  upon  to  attend  to  the  operation 
of  a  system  which  was  urged  upon  the  State,  and  to  test  a  theory  by  its 
practical  results,  the  duty  was  entered  upon  with  much  anxiety  and 
some  little  distrust,  and  the  Board  have  hitherto  delayed  a  positive  as¬ 
sertion  in  its  favour,  until  it  is  forced  from  them  by  evidence  which 
appears  to  be  incontestable. 

The  Report  for  1844,  contains  the  following: 

The  Inspectors  believe  that  the  following  conclusions  irresistibly 
present  themselves,  as  the  result  of  the  above  comparison  of  the  two 
systems. 

1.  That  the  separate  system  prevents  the  commission  of  crime. 

2.  That  it  is  pre-eminently  calculated  to  induce  and  effect  reform, 
in  the  minds  of  the  prisoners. 


16 


1 18 


3.  That  the  health  of  the  prisoners  is  equal  to  that  of  any  com¬ 
munity,  and  is  not,  in  the  least,  injuriously  affected  by  the  system. 

4.  That  mortality,  under  the  separate  system,  is  not  greater  than 
that  of  any  other, system  of  prison  discipline. 

5.  That  the  discipline,  and  the  proper  administration  of  the  sys¬ 
tem,  is  superior  to  all  others. 

6.  That,  of  the  objections  which  have  been  urged  against  the 
system,  none  have  been  realized. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  that  the  term  11  solitary  or  sepa¬ 
rate  confinement ,”  refers  to  the  fact  that  each  prisoner  is  alone ,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  “aggregate  confinement,”  or  “silent  system,” 
where  prisoners  are  in  gangs,  or  together  in  large  or  small  numbers. 
The  prisoners  in  the  separate  or  solitary  prisons  have  the  same  inter¬ 
course  with  all,  but  their  fellow  convicts,  and  an  idle  curiosity,  as  in 
other  systems — and  the  idea  that  prisoners  are  shut  up,  and  shut  out, 
from  all  intercommunication  with  the  good  and  the  instructive,  is  an 
error — a  gross  error.  They  have  that,  at  all  times,  besides  almost 
hourly  intercourse  with  their  overseers  and  other  officers  of  the  prison. 

In  the  last  annual  report  of  the  Inspectors,  they  say,  that  “  fully 
impressed  with  the  necessity  of  a  watchful  care  over  the  moral  and 
mental  improvement  of  the  prisoners,  as  constituting  a  fundamental 
principle  in  this,  as  in  all  penitentiary  reform,  are  endeavoring  to  effect 
some  improvements  in  the  present  plan  of  such  instruction,  particularly 
as  relates  to  the  education  in  reading  and  writing,  thereby  to  enlarge 
the  number  of  those  who  obtain  this  knowledge  while  in  confinement.” 

Within  the  last  year,  the  moral  and  rudimental  instruction  has 
been  divided.  The  former  has  been  left,  as  heretofore,  under  the  law, 
together  with  such  religious  teaching  as  each  prisoner  may  desire,  and 
from  whatever  professional  teacher  he  may  select.  The  latter  has  been 
entrusted  to  a  competent  person,  who  acts  as  an  overseer  when  re¬ 
quired.  Ample  time  is  thus  given  to  both  branches  of  learning ;  and 
thus  a  schoolmaster  has  been  successfully  introduced  into  the  prison, 
whose  chief  duty  it  is  to  teach  the  ignorant  to  read  and  write,  and 
practical  arithmetic. 

The  Inspectors  in  their  Report  for  the  year  1846, 
report  as  follows: 

What  may  be  the  analogy  between  crime  and  disease  so  far  as  re¬ 
lates  to  general  cause  and  effect  in  the  moral  and  physical  constitution, 
is  not  intended  to  be  here  the  subject  of  discussion.  It  may,  however, 
become  the  theme  for  serious  and  important  inquiry  and  examination. 


The  causes  of  crime  as  certainly  exist  as  the  causes  of  disease,  for 
both  are  but  effects  in  themselves.  Some  crimes  are  committed  from 
an  imperfection  in  the  moral  organization,  while  others  are  the  result 
of  sudden  and  exciting  moral  affections;  the  former  will  continue  to  be 
repeated  so  long  as  the  cause  remains,  and  the  latter  may  never  occur 
again,  because  the  excitement  may  never  reappear.  The  effect  of 
punishment  in  these  two  cases  would  be  different,  and  hence  a  primary 
object  of  punishment  should  be  to  correct  the  cause  of  the  moral  dis¬ 
turbance  which  has  produced  the  crime.  The  separate  system  is 
peculiarly  adapted  to  such  purpose,  and  as  the  subject  of  Prison 
discipline  continues  to  receive  the  attention  of  the  intelligent  observer, 
unforeseen  benefits  may  result  from  the  adaptation  of  punishment  to 
the  correction  or  remedy  for  these  moral  disorders. 

The  aim  and  end  of  imprisonment  for  crime  is  punishment,  as  the 
first  consequence ,  and  in  considering  the  subject  of  Penitentiary  disci¬ 
pline,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  lose  sight  of  this  primary  object. 
The  law  consigns  the  convict  to  restraint  of  his  personal  liberty  in  a 
prison  for  a  violation  or  infraction  of  its  decrees,  and  in  the  prison  he 
is  to  be  subjected  to  treatment  which  is  in  unison  with  the  object  for 
which  he  was  sentenced.  The  judgment  of  conviction  is  but  a  for¬ 
feiture  of  certain  natural  rights,  as  a  recompense  to  society  for  his 
inability  to  regard  and  obey  those  regulations  which  have  been  estab¬ 
lished  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  individuals  which  constitute 
such  community.  At  this  point  the  power  of  the  law  ceases  over  the 
convict,  for  it  has  exhausted  its  power  in  the  accomplishment  of  all  its 
ends.  By  the  present  enlightened  policy  of  our  State  Penitentiary 
discipline,  the  convict  thus  situated,  while  undergoing  punishment,  is 
sought  to  be  improved,  benefited,  reformed.  In  this,  society  has  a 
deep  interest ;  for  if  the  convict  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  impris¬ 
onment  is  improved  in  his  moral  character — encouraged  to  refrain 
from  the  commission  of  offences  against  the  law — reformed  in  his 
habits — and  taught  those  religious  or  moral  lessons  of  practical  utility, 
which  will  avail  him  on  his  again  co-mingling  with  society — deterred 
by  punishment  from  crime,  the  community  has  gained  two-fold  by  such 
an  imprisonment — it  has  punished  and  improved  a  prisoner,  and  made 
an  example  for  the  warning  of  all  who  are,  or  may  be  disposed  to 
become  enemies  of  social  order. 

To  these  ends  the  separate  system  of  Penitentiary  discipline  is 
eminently  conducive ;  and  as  they  are  and  ever  should  be  the  promi¬ 
nent  features  of  Prison  discipline,  that  system  which  promotes  them 
with  the  most  certainty  and  effect,  should  be  considered  as  the  best 
adapted  to  the  purposes  which  an  enlightened  people,  a  regenerated 


I  20 


penal  code,  and  the  instincts  of  a  just  and  benevolent  public  opinion 
should  seek  to  attain.  Pennsylvania  has  nobly  set  the  example ;  she 
made  the  experiment  at  a  time  when  doubts  and  difficulties,  impedi¬ 
ment  and  hindrance,  were  clouding  the  prospect — but  year  after  year 
has  brought  to  light  the  wisdom  of  the  founders  of  the  system,  and 
added  proof  upon  proof  of  its  complete  success.  It  is  now  no  longer 
an  experiment ;  but  the  separate  system  of  Prison  discipline  speaks  in 
the  voice  of  experience,  subjected  to  the  test  of  strict  trial,  to  the 
spirit  of  progress  of  this  age.  Its  arguments  are  facts ;  and  its  power 
of  convincement  over  the  minds  of  the  enlightened,  and  unbiased,  and 
unprejudiced,  is  found  to  exist  in  the  cumulative  evidence  which  is 
adduced  to  maintain,  that  all  it  ever  promised  has  been  more  than 
realized. 

Irrespective  of  the  results  which  are  to  be  found  in  our  own  State 
and  Federal  Union  in  support  of  the  great  features  of  our  Prison 
reform  and  meliorated  discipline,  the  testimony  of  France,  England, 
and  Prussia,  is  fully  sufficient  to  seal  its  success.  In  these  countries 
the  system  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  scrutinizing  examination, 
and  the  most  able  and  distinguished  champions  of  social  improvement 
have,  after  long  and  arduous  inquiry,  awarded  to  the  Pennsylvania 
system  their  support.  However  these  lights  may  be  sought  to  be  kept 
“hidden  under  a  bushel,”  they  have  nevertheless  shown  in  the  bright¬ 
ness  of  honest  conviction.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  improvements 
are  not,  or  have  not  been  suggested,  on  the  plan  of  the  administration 
of  the  separate  system;  this  has  never  been  asserted:  but  whatever 
these  improvements  may  be,  so  long  as  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
Pennsylvania  plan  are  adhered  to,  so  long  will  that  system  remain  in 
its  original  integrity.  These  features  are — separation  of  the  prisoners 
from  each  other  at  all  times — moral  and  intellectual  improvement — honest 
and  persuasive  ejforts  to  reform  and  reclai?n  the  prisoners.  Prevention , 
by  this  constant  separation  from  each  other  of  the  evil  of  contamination 
and  the  prejudicial  influence  which  must  arise  fro??i  the  association  of  the 
more  or  less  hardened  offenders .  The  prevention  by  separation  of  the 
acquaintance  and  knowledge  which  the  community  of  evil-7ninded persons 
obtain  of  each  other  by  association  in  the  place  of  punishment.  The 
ability  which  is  afforded  by  the  separatio?i  of  offenders ,  to  individualize 
the  corrective  a7id  refonnatory  treat7ne7it  best  suited  to  their  peculiar 
characters .  The  almost  certam  co7isequence  which  results  fro77i  the 
separate  syste7n,  of  making  these  710  worse  who  cannot  be  77iade  better  by 
the  infliction  of  the  punislwient  they  undergo.  The  addition  of  all 
improve77ie7its  which  experience  and  not  77iere  theory  s7iggests  in  the 
i77iprover7ie?it  of  the  7noral  a7id  physical  co7idition  of  the  priso7iers. 


I  2  I 


These  are  the  principles  on  which  the  Pennsylvania  system  is  based, 
these  rendered  it  antagonistical  to  the  congregate  system.  If  expe¬ 
rience  has  proved  that  one  plan  is  better  than  the  other,  if  the  prisoner 
and  the  community  are  benefited  by  the  operation  of  one  rather  than 
the  other,  then  to  the  best  mode  the  other  must  give  place.  Improve 
the  details  of  administration  as  they  require  and  as  experience  suggest, 
and  the  consequences  must  be  that  these  improvements  will  only  tend 
to  increase  the  superiority  of  the  separate  system  over  all  others. 

In  the  Forty-second  Report  of  the  Inspectors  to  the 
Legislature,  dated  February  27th,  1871,  they  say: 

It  will  be  observed  by  the  returns  made  by  the  Inspectors  in  this 
Report  that  a  large  number  of  prisoners  have  been  sentenced  for  unu¬ 
sually  long  terms  of  imprisonment.  These  were  for  crimes  of  the 
highest  grades,  and  the  individuals  are  reported  to  be  men  of  danger¬ 
ous  character  in  society.  When  it  is  known  that  by  the  Commutation 
Law  a  ten-year  sentence  can,  by  the  “good  conduct”  of  the  prisoner, 
be  diminished  by,  at  least,  23  months,  based  on  the  ratio  directed  in 
the  law,  there  is  no  real  advantage  to  the  public  from  these  sentences. 
The  words  of  the  law  are:  “One  month  on  each  of  the  first  two 
years,  of  two  months  on  each  succeeding  year  to  the  fifth  year,  and  of 
three  months  on  each  following  year  to  the  tenth  year,  and  of  four 
months  on  each  remaining  year  of  the  term  of  their  sentence.”  It 
never  has  been  the  opinion  of  the  Inspectors  of  this  Penitentiary  that 
long  sentences  to  this  Institution,  or  any  penitentiary  on  the  separate 
or  individual-treatment  system,  are  productive  of  benefits  to  the  State 
or  the  convict.  The  certainty  of  punishment  is  more  to  be  regarded 
than  its  duration,  so  far  as  society  is  protected  and  crime  punished, 
by  the  example  of  convictions  of  offenders.  Ti??ie  is  no  true  element 
in  punishment  by  imprisonment.  Long  sentences  do  not  reform  the 
individual,  nor  protect  the  public  security,  nor  produce  that  fear  in 
the  crime  class  which  prevents  their  committing  crime.  The  fact  that 
every  offender  is  punished  for  his  crime,  has  the  effect  which  is  sought 
to  be  produced  by  penal  laws. 

In  the  Massachusetts  State  Penitentiary,  during  the  year  ending 
September  30,  1870,  there  was  a  total  population  of  774  convicts.  Of 
these  63  were  pardoned.  The  sentences  of  6  of  those  were  for  life,  6 
for  10  years,  2  for  20  years,  2  for  15  years,  and  the  others  for  from  1 
to  10  years  each.  The  better  way  to  state  it  will  be  to  say  that  of  57 
prisoners,  the  6  for  life  omitted,  the  average  sentence  was  7  years,  3 


122 


months,  and  n  days,  while  the  time  served  when  they  were  pardoned 
was  4  years,  2  months,  and  8  days.  It  is  not,  therefore,  a  patent 
remedy  for  heinous  offences  that  the  convict  is  sentenced  for  long 
terms,  or  even  “for  life”  imprisonment,  in  that  State,  where,  it  is  to 
be  presumed,  the  action  of  the  public  authorities  is  governed  by 
integrity,  wisdom,  and  intelligence. 

It  it  stated  that  the  Executive  of  the  State  of  New  York,  during 
the  year  1870,  issued  85  pardons,  34  commutations,  and  1  reprieve. 
Of  the  pardons,  16  were  on  account  of  ill  health;  5  insane;  10  inno¬ 
cent  ;  and  3  for  discovering  plots  among  prisoners.  Of  the  pardoned 
prisoners,  2  were  sentenced  for  20  years;  5  for  15  years;  9  for  10 
years;  1  for  19  years;  2  for  life;  and  3  were  sentenced  to  be  hung. 
All  but  two  were  sentenced  since  i860. 

No  reference  is  here  made  of  the  “commutation,”  for  shorter 
periods  of  imprisonment  than  the  sentence. 

During  the  year  1870,  of  the  953  total  population  in  this  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  14  were  pardoned.  Of  these,  13  were  by  the  State  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  and  1  by  the  United  States :  for  ill  health,  o ;  insane,  o — all 
14  for  special  reasons. 

The  average  term  of  sentences  was  3  years,  9  months,  and  23  days  ; 
and  the  average  time  served,  1  year,  8  months,  1  day. 

To  a  prison  on  the  separate  system,  the  average  sentences  for  the 
lesser  degrees  of  crime,  when  punishment  promptly  follows  the  offence, 
might  be  fixed  at  two  years  as  the  maximum,  while  a  five  years’  sen¬ 
tence  in  most  cases  might  be  sufficient  for  those  offences  in  the  com¬ 
mission  of  which  human  life  was  not  put  in  peril.  For  young  offenders , 
for  their  first  offence ,  it  is  very  questionable  if  any  advantage  results 
to  society  or  the  individual,  by  a  longer  imprisonment  than  one  year, 
unless  for  exceptional  cases. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  primary  object  of  a  wise  administra¬ 
tion  of  penal  laws  regulating  the  punishment  by  imprisonment  of  indi¬ 
viduals,  should  be  to  prevent  the  creation  of  a  crime-class  by  the 
association  of  convicts  in  communities,  after  their  imprisonment  is 
terminated.  The  consequences  resulting  from  such  a  state  of  things 
are  to  be  feared,  since  by  this  association,  desperate  men,  each  known 
to  the  other  to  have  been  a  convict,  conspire  to  commit  crimes,  and 
by  this  association  they  more  easily  escape  arrest  and  defy  convic¬ 
tion.  The  separate  system  of  imprisonment,  on  this  ground,  is  a 
protection  to  the  public,  while  it  presents  the  best  opportunity  for 
introducing  to  the  convict’s  attention  those  reformatory  agencies 
which  it  is  the  part  of  Christian  benevolence  ever  to  hold  out  to  the 
just  and  the  unjust. 


123 


The  Inspectors  feel  justified  in  calling  to  the  attention  of  the 
Legislature  the  most  gratifying  fact  that  in  other  States,  some  of  the 
prominent  features  of  the  administration  of  the  Pennsylvania  system 
of  Penitentiary  discipline  are  receiving  both  recognition  and  approval. 
For  many  years  past  the  Inspectors,  in  their  Annual  Reports  to  your 
Honorable  Bodies,  have  given  the  convictions  of  their  judgment, 
from  practical  experience,  that  the  government  of  penal  institutions 
should  be  entrusted  to  those  whose  capacity,  knowledge,  experience, 
and  integrity  alone  qualify  them  for  such  responsible  duties.  It  has 
been  found  in  this  Penitentiary  that  honesty  and  capability,  with  intel¬ 
ligent  observation  of  the  practical  working  of  the  system  of  punish¬ 
ment,  on  the  part  of  the  executive  officers  were  essential  to  secure  the 
purposes  of  penitentiary  discipline.  Frequent  change  in  the  executive 
officers,  or  their  selection  on  any  other  recommendation  than  fitness 
and  fidelity,  has  ever  been  condemned  as  most  injurious  to  the  inter¬ 
ests  entrusted  to  the  Inspectors  to  guard.  Almost  alone  in  these 
opinions  for  so  long  a  period  of  time,  it  is  now  with  great  satisfaction 
the  Inspectors  learn  that  the  Prison  Discipline  Association  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  a  public  meeting,  adopted  a  “Memorial”  to 
the  authorities  of  that  State,  which  thus  gives  testimony  in  support  of 
the  Pennsylvania  practice  in  this  respect : 

The  remedy  which  the  Association  proposes  is  a  radical  one,  involving  an  entire 
change  in  the  organization  of  the  government  of  the  prisons.  Their  examination 
has  extended  over  the  whole  period  of  the  existence  of  the  present  form  of  that 
government.  They  say : 

By  the  Constitution,  all  the  .State  Prisons  are  put  wholly  under  the  government 
of  three  Inspectors,  who  hold  office  for  three  years,  and  are  elected  one  every  year, 
and  who  superintend  the  State  Prisons  and  appoint  all  the  officers  therein.  They  are 
called  Inspectors,  but  are  in  fact  governors  of  the  prisons  and  controllers  of  the  system, 
subject  to  no  supervision  or  inspection,  except  such  as  the  Legislature  may  direct, 
and  that  of  the  imperfect  power  given  to  the  Prison  Association.  Every  year  one  of 
them  is  thrown  into  the  arena  of  party  politics. 

The  “  Memorial  ”  proposes  the  State  Constitution  to  be  amended 
so  that — 

There  shall  be  a  Board  of  Managers  of  Prisons,  to  be  composed  of  five  persons 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  who  shall 
hold  office  for  ten  years. 

That  Board  shall  have  the  charge  and  superintendence  of  the  Prisons,  and  have 
such  powers  and  perform  such  duties  in  respect  to  other  prisons  in  the  State  as  the 
Legislature  may  prescribe. 

They  shall  appoint  a  Secretary  who  shall  be  removable  at  their  pleasure,  and 
perform  such  duties  as  the  Legislature  or  Board  may  direct,  and  receive  a  salary  to  be 
determined  by  law. 


1 24 


The  Board  shall  appoint  the  Warden,  Clerk,  Physician,  and  Chaplain  of  each 
State  Prison,  and  shall  have  power  to  remove  them  for  cause  only,  after  opportunity 
to  be  heard  on  written  charges. 

All  other  officers  of  each  prison  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Warden  thereof,  and 
be  removable  at  his  pleasure. 

The  Governor  may  remove  any  of  the  managers  for  misconduct  or  neglect  of 
duty,  after  opportunity  to  be  heard  on  written  charges. 

The  five  managers  first  appointed  shall,  as  the  Legislature  may  direct,  be  so 
classified  that  the  term  of  one  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  each  two  years  during  the 
first  ten  years. 

This  amendment  shall  go  into  effect  on  the  first  Monday  of  January  next  after  its 
adoption  by  the  people. 

If  you,  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  will  refer  to  the  recent 
Reports  from  the  Inspectors  of  this  State  Penitentiary,  you  will  observe 
that  the  “  contract  system  ”  of  employing  convict  labor  has  been 
condemned  as  most  injurious  to  society,  unjust,  and  unworthy  of  an 
enlightened  civilization. 

Under  this  plan  of  working  convicts,  in  congregation,  by  contract 
with  employers,  every  consideration  but  the  benefit  of  the  convict  was 
absorbed  in  profit-making  out  of  the  criminals  whom  the  State  pun¬ 
ished  for  violating  its  laws.  This  profit  was  the  claimed  advantage  of 
this  plan  of  labor,  so  unworthy  of  a  people  who  thus  justified  the 
brutalizing  of  those  who  were  young,  or  convicted  for  a  first  offence, 
as  well  as  those  who  had,  it  might  be,  some  redeeming  characteristics, 
in  one  common  mass  with  the  atrocious  and  hardened  veteran  in  a  life 
of  crime.  The  Inspectors,  in  these  Reports,  were  the  only  protestants 
against  this  contract  system.  The  experience  however,  of  the  Society 
alluded  to  has,  at  last,  enabled  it,  in  the  “  Memorial  ”  to  which  refer¬ 
ence  has. been  made,  thus  to  condemn  this  plan  of  prison  labor. 

Thus  the  “  Memorial  ”  continues  : 

********  ** 

On  the  other  side  of  the  account  this  tendency  to  augmentation  does  not  seem  to 
have  prevailed  to  the  same  extent.  In  Sing  Sing,  in  1847,  convicts  put  on  contracts 
were  let  at  35  cents  a  day;  in  1869,  they  were  let  at  from  30  to  40  cents  a  day.  In 
Auburn  they  were  let,  in  1847,  at  from  30  to  50  cents  a  day;  and  in  1869,  at  an 
average  of  50  cents  a  day.  Thus  while  the  rate  of  wages,  inuring  to  the  benefit  of 
the  State,  increased  not  over  50  per  cent,  the  expenditures,  at  the  cost  of  the  State, 
increased  during  the  same  period  at  the  rate  of  300  per  cent.  The  contract  system 
seemed,  even  to  the  Inspectors  to  be  a  failure,  they  have  attempted  within  the  last 
five  or  six  years  to  abandon  it  in  a  measure,  and  have  had  recourse  to  labor  conducted 
under  their  immediate  supervison,  with  what  success  the  foregoing  statements  show. 
Within  the  past  five  years,  from  1865  to  1869  inclusive,  the  deficiency  of  earnings  to 
pay  expenses  has  been  $1,094,151.05 — an  amount  larger  than  the  deficiencies  of  the 
whole  previous  18  years;  and  the  appropriations  from  the  State  Treasury  have  been 


125 


$4>I93»7bo  °7>  being  about  equal  in  amount  to  the  appropriations  for  all  those  previous 
years. 


Again  from  this  “  Memorial 

The  effort,  however,  during  the  whole  of  the  last  twenty-two  years,  has  been  a 
failure,  and  is,  year  after  year,  becoming  more  signally  and  disastrously  so. 

The  following  is  a  table  of  the  number  of  prisoners  at  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  present  system: 


1848.  1869. 

Auburn .  473  950 

Sing  Sing  .  604  1,279 

Female .  84  130 

Clinton .  181  504 

Asylum  (not  built  until  1859) .  —  78 

Total . 1,342  2,932 

Increase,  119  per  cent. 

EXPENDITURES  FOR  THE  SAME  PERIOD. 

1848.  1869. 

Female . $11,790  54  $25,856  26 

Sing  Sing .  97,221  41  351,032  57 

Auburn . 66,969  41  171,015  81 

Clinton . 41,510  16  317,309  70 

Asylum .  —  13,954  92 


$217,491  52  $879,219  26 


Increase,  over  300  per  cent. 

The  following  shows  the  condition  of  affairs  from  the  beginning  of  the  system  to 
the  present  day : 

TABLE  OF  PROGRESS  FROM  1 847  TO  1 869,  INCLUSIVE. 

Number  of 


Years. 

Prisoners. 

Expenditures. 

Earnings. 

Deficits. 

1847  • 

.  1,421 

$125,833  85 

$120,860  08 

$  4,973 

77 

1848  . 

.  1,366 

204,091  80 

110,658  94 

93,432 

86 

1849  • 

•  1,380 

188,754  74 

139,285  34 

49,469 

40 

1850  . 

.  1,621 

208,397  74 

158,422  25 

50,975 

49 

1851  . 

•  1,703 

266,011  20 

178,914  09 

27,097 

1 1 

1852  . 

.  1,852 

211,751  80 

193,303  11 

18,448 

69 

1853  • 

.  1,967 

250,818  24 

2l6,IIO  65 

34,707 

59 

1854  . 

.  2,005 

272,413  03 

213,178  03 

59,235 

00 

1855  • 

•  i,957 

233,445  59 

197,230  29 

35,215 

30 

1856  . 

.  1,910 

223,477  99 

197,105  13 

25,372 

66 

1857  • 

.  1,890 

212,714  17 

191,783  63 

20,930 

54 

1858  . 

.  2,126 

250,35b  02 

149,173  93 

101,182 

04 

1859  . 

•  2,538 

279,333  68 

189,836  52 

89,497 

16 

i860  . 

.  2,729 

291,744  69 

238,627  56 

53,H7 

13 

l86l  . 

.  2,818 

388,904  76 

265,552  78 

23,351 

98 

1862  . 

.  2,697 

294,685  57 

228,481  51 

66,204 

06 

1863  . 

.  2,131 

291,216  53 

228,330  74 

62,885 

79 

1864  . 

•  i,9i5 

342,794  55 

255,957  81 

86,836 

63 

1865  . 

.  1,885 

414,713  3° 

202,506  57 

212,306 

73 

1866  . 

.  2,368 

463,995  46 

229,413  83 

234,581 

63 

1867  . 

.  2,920 

779,579  61 

600,013  43 

179,566 

18 

1868  . 

.  2,881 

844,373  93 

601,630  o5 

242,734 

88 

1869  . 

•  2,930 

879,219  26 

654,157  68 

225,061 

63 

Making  an  aggregate  deficit  in  23  years  of  .  .  $1,997,084  45 


17 


The  foregoing  statements,  though  they  show  a  result  sufficiently  disastrous  to 
convince  the  Association  that  the  present  system  is  financially  a  failure,  do  not  show 
the  whole  extent  of  the  disaster. 


These  quotations  from  the  “  Memorial”  are  made  with  satisfaction, 
because  they  are  most  important  testimony  in  themselves,  and  unwil¬ 
lingly  sustain  the  Inspectors  of  this  Penitentiary  in  their  expressed 
opinions  on  the  subject,  and  show  that  the  time  is  coming  when  the 
broader  and  more  philosophic  views  of  penitentiary  discipline  which  a 
scientific  examination  of  so  increasingly  important  a  subject  will  pro¬ 
duce,  may  yet  become  triumphant  over  the  ignorance  of  bigotry,  or 
the  baser,  ignoble,  and  narrow  motives  which  have  so  long  controlled 
the  partizan  management  of  institutions  too  generally  considered 
only  as  public  receptacles  for  convicted  felons.  It  would  have  been 
worthy  of  those  who  in  this  “Memorial”  have  so  thoroughly  ex¬ 
posed  the  evils  against  which  they  invoke  rebuke  and  remedy,  if 
they  had,  at  least,  given  to  Pennsylvania  some  credit  for  a  consis¬ 
tent  opposition  to  them.  It  would  have  been  simple  justice  to  our 
State,  to  have  pointed  to  her  as  an  example  for  the  reforms  which 
the  Memorial  now  so  markedly  approves  and  advocates,  in  the  Peni¬ 
tentiaries  of  New  York. 

The  following  extract  from  the  “Memorial”  is  so  thorough  a 
justification  of  the  discipline,  as  well  as  the  “separate  system”  itself, 
contrasted  with  the  “  congregate  plan,”  now  adopted  in  New  York, 
and  heretofore  claimed  to  be  the  best  system  of  prison  government, 
that  it  needs  no  comment : 

Moral  Administration. — It  is  now  about  25  years  since  a  change  was 
introduced  into  the  moral  government  of  our  prisons.  Prior  to  that  time  the 
prominent  ideas  had  been  punishment  and  earnings.  This  change  was  the 
introduction  of  rewards  as  well  as  punishments,  and  keeping  the  reformation  of 
the  prisoners  in  view  as  the  main  object.  Appended  is  a  brief  enumeration  of  the 
measures  employed,  of  their  defective  execution,  and  of  the  benefits  that  may  result 
from  them. 

The  Mode  of  Enforcing  Obedience. — Formerly  it  was  by  means  of  the  whip,  but 
with  occasional  resorts  to  other  means  of  violence.  In  1830  the  use  of  the  whip  was 
abolished  among  the  females,  and  in  1849  among  the  males,  except  in  cases  of 
insurrection,  revolt  and  self-defence.  The  substitute  provided  for  it  by  law  was  soli¬ 
tary  confinement ;  and  in  the  latter  year  the  law  directed  solitary  cells  for  that  purpose 
to  be  built  in  all  the  prisons.  Those  cells  have  not  yet  been  built,  and  during  the 
succeeding  twenty  years  other  means  of  force  were  resorted  to,  until,  in  1869,  such 
means,  so  far  as  they  assumed  the  form  of  the  “  shower-bath,  crucifix,  and  yoke  and 
buck,”  were  forbidden.  This  was  done  without  providing  any  substitutes,  and  the 
consequences  were  disastrous.  As  soon  as  the  passage  of  the  law  was  known,  a 
general  uneasiness  in  all  the  prisons  was  shown.  This  was  followed  by  individual 


127 


acts  of  violence.  At  Auburn  a  keeper  was  assaulted  by  a  convict,  struck  down  by  a 
hammer,  and  his  life  saved  only  by  the  interposition  of  another  convict.  At  Clinton 
a  keeper  was  stabbed,  and  disabled  for  life;  and  at  Sing  Sing  a  keeper  was  struck 
down  by  a  bar  of  iron,  and  the  officers  fired  upon  by  a  convict.  Then  ensued  more 
general  movements.  At  Auburn  whole  shops  refused  to  work.  At  Sing  Sing  150 
convicts,  on  one  day,  and  some  500  or  600  the  next  day,  refused  to  work ;  and  at 
Clinton  there  was  a  general  conspiracy  to  escape,  which  was  fortunately  discovered 
in  time  to  be  prevented.  At  Sing  Sing  20,  at  Auburn  12,  and  at  Clinton  10  of  the 
ring-leaders  were  kept  in  irons  and  chained  to  the  cells  for  several  months, 
and  it  is  believed  that  nothing  but  the  action  of  the  well-disposed  among  the 
prisoners  prevented  more  general  outbreaks,  and  perhaps  an  emptying  of  our 
prisons  of  the  great  body  of  their  inmates.  The  use  of  blows  upon  the  prisoners  is 
forbidden  only  in  our  State  Prisons.  In  all  the  local  Penitentiaries,  to  which 
many  of  our  State  prisoners  have  been  removed,  it  is  still  allowed ;  and  in  the  State 
Prisons  it  seems  to  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  officer  immediately  in  charge  to 
determine  what  is  the  condition  of  revolt,  insurrection,  or  self-defence,  which  will 
justify  a  resort  to  the  whip.  A  general  system  of  discipline  to  prevail  alike  in  all 
the  prisons,  and  which  shall  prevent  the  officers  immediately  affected  by  disorder 
from  acting  as  complainant,  judge  and  executioner,  and  which  will  cultivate  the 
habit  of  self-government  now  so  predominant  among  the  great  number  of  the  pris¬ 
oners,  is  a  measure  greatly  to  be  desired. 

The  Introduction  of  Libraries. — This  was  begun  before  the  adoption  of  our 
present  Constitution.  So  thoroughly  was  this  sanctioned  by  the  Legislature  that, 
during  the  past  24  years,  appropriations  for  this  purpose  have  made  to  the  amount  of 
about  $20,000,  and  the  agents  were  directed  to  append  to  their  annual  reports  a  cata¬ 
logue  of  the  prison  libraries.  This  duty  has  never  been  performed. 

Teaching  the  Prisoners. — The  law  has  provided,  in  this  respect,  that  the 
chaplains,  besides  religious  services  in  the  chapels,  shall  visit  the  convicts  in 
their  cells,  and  devote  one  hour  each  work-day,  and  the  afternoon  of  each  Sun¬ 
day,  to  giving  them  religious  and  moral  instruction.  So  the  law  has  provided 
for  ten  teachers  in  the  prisons,  at  an  annual  expense  of  $i,5°°>  to  instruct  the 
unlearned  in  the  first  rudiments  of  education.  In  these  respects,  also,  there  is  a 
great  waste  of  the  wise  benevolence  of  the  law,  owing  to  the  absence  of  a  well- 
digested  plan  of  instruction ;  for  at  present  the  system  of  instruction  is  so  conducted 
as  to  amount  to  a  farce. 

Overwork  and  Aid  to  Discharged  Convicts. — The  original  allowance  to  convicts 
on  their  discharge  was  $3  to  each  from  the  prison  funds.  It  is  now  increased  to  $10; 
and  a  practice  has  grown  up,  not  yet  sanctioned  or  organized  by  law,  of  allowing  the 
prisoners  to  earn  money  for  themselves,  over  and  above  their  allotted  stents.  This 
also  demands  an  organized  system  to  prevent  an  abuse  of  the  privilege  by  prisoners 
and  contractors,  to  guard  against  unjust  partiality  by  the  officers  in  charge,  and  to 
accord  it  impartially  to  all. 

Commutation  of  Sentence. — There  is  now  prevailing  in  all  our  State  Prisons  (but 
not  in  all  local  ones)  a  measure  of  enabling  the  convicts,  by  their  own  good  conduct, 
to  shorten  their  terms  of  imprisonment.  In  1863,  out  of  1,123  prisoners  who  left 
during  the  year,  only  82  left  by  expiration  of  sentence,  while  829  went  out  by  com¬ 
mutation  under  the  law.  In  this  there  is  great  danger,  as  well  as  the  actual  existence 


1  28 


of  partiality  and  injustice,  which  nothing  can  prevent  so  well  as  the  creation  of  an 
intelligent  and  judicious  tribunal. 

Notwithstanding  this  is  the  Forty-second  yearly  Report  of  the 
Inspectors  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  on  the  practical  results  of 
the  Pennsylvania  system  of  separate  treatment  of  prisoners,  yet  even 
now  there  are  many,  professing  to  be  possessed  of  general  information 
on  penal  science  as  applied  to  prison  populations  and  systems  of  con¬ 
vict  punishment,  who  entirely  mistake  the  principles,  and  are  ignorant 
of  the  practical  results,  which  these  Reports  exhibit  of  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  system  of  Penitentiary  convict  discipline. 

It  is  not  possible  in  this  Report,  to  condense  the  statements  made 
in  the  forty-one  which  have  preceded  it.  But  justice  to  this  Peniten¬ 
tiary,  at  least,  requires  that  for  the  past  year,  1870,  a  comparison 
should  be  made  of  the  exhibits  of  one  Penitentiary  on  each  system  of 
convict  treatment.  The  Charlestown  Penitentiary  of  Massachusetts  is 
taken  as  best  managed  on  the  congregate,  and  this  Penitentiary,  on  the 
separate  system,  for  this  purpose. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Penitentiary  the  total  population  for  1870  is 
given  as  774.  Out  of  this  number  there  were  14  deaths,  or  1.81  per 
cent. 

In  this  Penitentiary  the  total  population  for  1870  was  953. 
Out  of  this  number  there  were  12  deaths,  or  1.26  per  cent.  The 
difference  in  population  is  as  774  is  to  953,  or  179  excess  in  this 
Penitentiary. 

Of  the  774  in  Massachusetts,  63  convicts  were  pardoned. 

Of  the  953  in  Pennsylvania,  14  convicts  were  pardoned. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Penitentiary  2  convicts  were  sent  to  the  In¬ 
sane  Asylum. 

In  this  Penitentiary  3  convicts  were  of  unsound  mind ;  but,  by 
the  treatment  in  the  Penitentiary,  are  reported  by  the  Resident  Physi¬ 
cian,  Dr.  Klapp,  to  be  “fully  restored  to  reason.” 

As  to  the  discipline  or  government  of  the  prisoners  in  the 
Massachusetts  Penitentiary,  it  is  stated  that  “it  is  not  to  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  six  hundred  men,  some  of  them  unquestionably  bad,  but 
“more  of  them  unfortunate;  some  of  them  receiving  the  just  reward 
“for  crimes  committed,  whilst  others,  in  their  own  minds  at  least, 
“are  suffering  unjustly,  can  be  managed  and  controlled  without  occa¬ 
sional  friction.” 

In  this  Penitentiary  the  discipline  has  been  maintained ;  for  it 
appears  that  “we  have  had  a  prison  populatian  of  953  convicts,  many 
“  of  whom  are  among  the  most  desperate  men  who  have  ever  been  im- 


“prisoned  within  these  walls.  Yet  quiet  and  good  order  have  pre- 
“  vailed,  and  by  the  vigilance  and  active  care  of  the  officers  no  escape, 
“even  into  the  yard,  has  been  effected,  and  no  harsh  or  severe  treat  - 
“  ment  has  been  found  needful.” 

The  above  extracts,  at  least,  suggest  the  inquiry,  if  congre¬ 
gating  into  one  mass  those  convicts,  the  control  of  whom  is  described 
as  producing  “ occasional  friction ,”  is  the  wisest  plan  for  their  proper 
government,  or  for  the  best  interests  of  society. 

In  Massachusetts,  with  774  convicts  as  the  total  population  for 
1870,  “our  expenses,”  as  given,  were  $122,265.72. 

In  this  Penitentiary,  with  a  total  population  for  1870  of  953  con¬ 
victs,  our  expenses  were  $98,886  48. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Prison  the  recommitments  on  774  convicts, 
total  population  during  1870,  were  100,  or  equal  to  13.44  per  cent. 

In  this  Penitentiary  the  total  recommitments  on  5,298  convicts, 
the  whole  number  liable  to  reconviction  since  1829,  were  532,  or  for 
say  40  years,  10  per  cent. 

It  is  shown  by  this  comparative  statement  that  the  “separate 
system”  has  triumphantly  vindicated  itself  against  open,  as  well 
as  covert  assaults,  which  ignorance,  prejudice,  or  that  “little  know¬ 
ledge”  so  dangerous  in  scientific  studies  have  from  time  to  time 
made  against  it. 

It  would  not  be  presuming  too  much  to  believe  that  you,  Gentle¬ 
men  of  the  Legislature,  will  invoke  the  experience  of  this  State 
Institution  before  enacting  into  laws  measures  relating  to  convict  dis¬ 
cipline,  penal  jurisprudence,  or  crime  cause  either  for  prevention  or 
punishment.  Surely  the  knowledge  of  facts,  and  the  practical  work¬ 
ing  of  principles  or  theories  on  penal  science  for  a  period  of  40  years, 
might  be  important  to  test  either  new  propositions,  or  determine  the 
proposed  benefits  that  the  love  of  change  always  promises  as  the 
undoubted  results  thereby  to  be  attained. 

The  necessity  for  legislation  pre-supposes  an  understanding  of  the 
subject-matter,  and  no  source  of  information  which  is  reliable,  or  ex¬ 
perience  which  is  respectable,  or  knowledge  which  has  been  carefully 
and  intelligently  acquired,  should  be  ignored  while  such  legislation  is 
being  perfected  for  its  purpose.  Your  own  experience,  Gentlemen  of 
the  Legislature,  makes  this  self-evident. 

While  the  primary  purpose  of  this  Report  to  the  Legislature,  is  to 
comply  with  the  law  directing  it  to  be  made,  yet  the  scope  of  the 
direction  that  besides  the  specific  return,  “such  information  ”  may  be 
given  as  may  be  deemed  “expedient”  for  making  this  “Institution 
effectual  in  the  punishment  and  reformation  of  offenders,”  implies 


130 


the  expression  of  such  suggestions  as  more  generally  relate  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  penal  jurisprudence. 

It  is  believed  that  the  statistical  information  contained  in  the 
tables  submitted,  indicates  the  careful  investigation  of  the  case  of  each 
convict,  and  the  confidence  established  between  the  individual  and 
the  prison  authorities.  This  tends  to  create  in  the  mind  of  the  pri¬ 
soners  the  impression  that  though  convicts,  human  sympathy  is  not  to 
be  denied  them,  and  that  even  in  prison,  there  is  an  interest  felt  in 
their  welfare  and  improvement.  To  some,  this  is  a  first  lesson  in 
reformation ;  with  others,  it  awakens  the  good  impressions  of  child¬ 
hood.  The  influence  on  all  is  to  facilitate  the  acceptance  of  any 
agencies  that  are  designed  for  reform. 

But,  apart  from  these  considerations,  the  contributions  made  in 
these  reports  to  penal  science,  limited,  though  they  are  to  the  investi¬ 
gation  of  the  population  of  this  Penitentiary,  it  is  hoped  will  invite 
the  Legislature  to  favorably  consider  the  great  importance  of  author¬ 
izing  by  law,  comprehensive  reports  to  be  obtained  by  a  Department 
of  the  State  Government  on  those  subjects,  which  are  intimately 
connected  with  unhealthful  developments  in  the  social  conditions  of 
certain  classes  in  the  whole  population. 

If  such  information  could  be  obtained  and  systematically  ar¬ 
ranged,  it  would  enable  the  Legislature  to  understand  what  legislation 
was  most  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

Crime  cause  would  be  better  understood,  prevention  and  punish¬ 
ment  could  be  so  adjusted  as  to  separate  the  proper  treatment  of  those 
who  most  needed  either,  under  laws  adapted  to  each. 

It  might  be  then  ascertained  that  industrial  schools  and  reforma¬ 
tory  institutions  for  the  first  offences  of  the  young  offenders,  were 
more  essential  than  neglected  or  ill-regulated  prisons  or  more  peni¬ 
tentiaries. 

From  such  information,  the  conclusions  might  be  arrived  at,  that 
county  prisons  on  the  separate  system,  properly  governed  and  admin¬ 
istered,  should  be  the  rule  for  all  large  counties,  rather  than  the  excep¬ 
tion  in  Pennsylvania. 

It  could  hardly  be  doubted  that  with  such  reports  carefully 
made,  the  Legislature  could  better  determine  how  the  money  of 
the  people  might  be  liberally  and  wisely  expended  for  the  poor,  the 
suffering,  the  idle,  the  vicious,  the  criminal,  the  ignorant  and  the 
unfortunate.  From  each  section  of  the  State  the  real  condition 
of  these  classes  would  be  presented,  and  then  it  would  be  better 
known  how  to  relieve,  restrain,  prevent,  punish  and  educate.  It 
probably  would  indicate  that  for  all  classes  a  general  rule  was  im- 


possible.  True  philosophy  would  teach  the  adaptation  of  individual 
treatment  to  individual,  or  special  developments  of  causes  producing 
particular  results. 

It  would  more  certainly  enable  a  judicious  classification  to  be 
made  of  remedial,  preventive,  and  punitive  agencies,  and  prevent  the 
pauperization  of  individuals  into  an  idle  or  indigent  class,  or  a  more 
dreaded  crime-class.  If  no  other  result  was  reached,  it  would  be 
possible  to  establish  by  law  some  system  by  which  education  in 
handicraft  skilled  labor,  could  be  within  the  reach  of  those  of  the 
young  who  sought  it,  and  at  the  same  time  be  approved  and  applauded 
by  an  enlightened  public  opinion. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  “Commutation  Law,” 
by  which  sentences  of  the  convicts  are  shortened  by  their  “good 
conduct”  while  under  conviction.  This  plan  has  been  described  as  a 
statutory  recommendation  to  the  Executive  to  discharge  the  convict 
before  the  sentence  inflicted  by  the  judicial  power  expires.  While  it 
is  not  a  pardon  under  the  exercise  of  the  constitutional  prerogative  of 
the  Governor,  it  is  a  device  which,  by  legislation,  controls  the  judicial 
and  directs  Executive  action.  How  wise  such  legislation  may  be,  is 
no  part  of  the  province  of  the  Inspectors  to  consider,  much  less  to 
determine.  It  is  now  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Legislature  for  the 
purpose  of  inviting  attention  to  the  precedent  thus  established.  If  the 
Legislature  can  enact  a  law  by  which  a  judicial  sentence  can  be 
terminated  before  it  expires  by  its  own  limitation,  then  it  becomes  a 
most  important  question  to  consider,  if  this  principle  cannot  be  applied 
for  the  purpose  of  more  effectually  securing  the  aim  of  punishment  by 
imprisonment,  in  particular  cases.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the 
exercise  of  the  pardoning  power  is  subject  to  public  criticism.  There 
are  no  doubt  cases  in  which  there  are  grounds  for  this  animadversion, 
but  the  Inspectors  do  not  desire  to  express  any  opinion  on  cases  of 
which  they  have  no  direct  knowledge  from  their  official  relations  with 
the  prisoner. 

The  comparison  hereinbefore  made  between  the  pardons  granted 
by  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  shows  that  in  this 
State,  Executive  clemency  has  been  very  sparingly  exercised  on  con¬ 
victs  in  this  Penitentiary. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  are  now  in  this  Institution  several 
convicts  who  are  fully  entitled  to  pardon,  if  the  purpose  of  their  pun¬ 
ishment  was  to  qualify  them  for  restoration  to  liberty,  with  benefit  to 
themselves  and  advantage  to  society. 

To  reach  these  cases  is  difficult  of  accomplishment  under  the 
present  system.  If  a  pardon  is  asked,  then  the  Inspectors  may  be 


1 32 


regarded  as  exceeding  the  line  of  their  official  duty,  and  their  action 
misunderstood  or  misconstrued ;  or  they  might  be  subjected  to  appli¬ 
cations  from  unworthy  persons ;  or  the  Executive  might  fail  to  appre¬ 
ciate  their  motives.  Nevertheless  these  cases  exist,  and  continuing  in 
prison  those  who  have  been  brought  within  the  effects  of  punishment, 
and  over  whom  it  has  exercised  all  the  influences  designed  by  law  and 
justice,  is  of  very  doubtful  propriety.  It  is  imprisonment  for  no  pur¬ 
pose.  The  example,  the  prevention  of  crime,  as  they  are  supposed  to 
be  reached  by  a  conviction  of  the  guilty,  has  been  effected  by  such 
conviction  and  the  infliction  of  the  punishment.  The  only  remaining 
purpose  of  the  law  which  this  punishment  proposed  has  been  produced. 
Society  has  been  protected,  the  example  has  been  made,  those  who 
are  intended  to  be  warned  have  had  their  warning,  and  the  individual 
who  is  punished  is  now  alone  to  be  considered.  If  his  punishment 
has  caused  him  to  repent  of  his  wickedness,  and  determine,  in  so  far 
as  he  can,  to  reform,  then  his  liberty  is  more  a  right  than  a  favor,  for 
longer  incarceration  is  useless  to  him,  and  society  gains  nothing 
thereby.  That  these  are  the  well-considered  opinions  of  the  Inspec¬ 
tors,  will  appear  from  the  following  extracts  from  their  Reports  to  the 
Legislature. 

From  the  Report  for  the  year  1852,  the  following  extract  is 
taken : 

The  Inspectors  cannot  close  this  Report  without  again  briefly  calling  the  attention 
of  the  General  Assembly  to  the  subject  of  revising  the  penal  code,  so  as  to  shorten 
the  minimum  period  of  confinement  affixed  to  certain  crimes.  The  daily  observation 
of  the  effects  of  separate  and  solitary  confinement,  with  the  influences  connected  with 
it  in  this  Penitentiary,  have  fully  convinced  them  that  a  much  greater  degree  of  good 
would  be  achieved,  by  shortening  most  of  the  sentences  for  first  offences,  and  particu¬ 
larly  those  of  all  young  offenders.  For  this  latter  class  a  few  months’  confinement, 
or  a  year  at  most,  would  produce  in  general  vastly  more  salutary  effects  than  longer 
terms.  The  Inspectors  are  gratified  to  know  that  throughout  the  eastern  district  of 
the  State  this  fact  has  become  apparent  to  most  of  the  judicial  tribunals,  and  is  acted 
upon  to  the  limits  of  the  law.  Should  this  disposition  become  general,  and  a  larger 
discretion  be  given  by  law,  it  would  remove  in  a  great  measure  the  necessity  that  is 
now  often  believed  to  exist  for  the  exercise  of  the  pardoning  power. 

The  Pennsylvania  system  is  best  described  as  the  individual-treat¬ 
ment  of  convicts,  as  contrasted  with  that  in  other  States,  which  is  the 
congregate  or  class  treatment.  This  distinction  is  important,  while 
considering  the  views  now  under  discussion.  . 

Again,  in  the  Report  for  1853,  it  is  remarked : 

The  Inspectors  have  again  to  remark  on  the  subject  of  the  duration  of  sentences 
inflicted  upon  juvenile  offenders.  It  is  with  regret  the  Inspectors  find  that,  of  the 


133 


/ 


prisoners  admitted  during  the  year  1853,  there  are  twenty-two  under  twenty-one 
years,  and  forty- eight  under  twenty-five  years  of  age.  The  Inspectors  are  of  opinion 
that  in  cases  of  first  conviction  of  minors,  or  those  of  immature  age,  unless  for  crimes 
of  the  most  aggravated  character,  a  short  term  of  imprisonment  is  of  far  greater 
benefit  to  the  individual  than  one  which  is  calculated  to  punish  beyond  the  period 
when  moral  influences  have  awakened  in  the  heart  strong  feelings  of  repentance  and 
a  desire  to  reform.  Evil  associates,  bad  example,  and  a  want  of  proper  parental  care 
and  watchfulness,  admonition,  and  control  lead  the  young  into  crimes.  When,  there¬ 
fore,  imprisoned  as  a  punishment,  the  young  convict  is  brought  to  feel,  probably  for 
the  first  time,  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard.  Then 
it  is  that  judicious  counsel  and  advice  induces  the  most  decided  improvement.  It  is 
believed  that  if  in  such  instances  the  prisoner  was  set  at  liberty,  a  revolution  would 
be  effected  in  his  morals  and  habits,  and  a  new  career  would  be  sought  after  for  his 
future  life.  The  Inspectors  make  these  suggestions  in  the  hope  that  good  may  result 
from  their  careful  consideration. 

In  the  Report  for  the  year  1854,  the  Inspectors  thus  speak  on 
this  interesting  subject : 

The  Inspectors  again  feel  it  their  duty  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to 
the  length  of  sentences  inflicted  for  first  offences,  and  also  on  young  offenders.  It  is 
no  longer  a  question  that  severity  in  punishment  is  no  prevention  of  crime;  neither 
does  severity  of  punishment  produce  the  desired  effect  upon  the  offender.  The  causes 
of  crime  should  be  more  fully  investigated  after  a  conviction,  and  have  a  potent 
influence  in  determining  the  duration  of  the  punishment.  There  is  a  period  in  the 
history  of  every  criminal’s  punishment  when  his  liberation  would  most  benefit  him, 
and  hence  society  would  gain,  by  the  improvement  afforded  in  reclaiming  an  offender. 
Those  whose  constant  intercourse  with  convicts  enables  them  to  form  an  opinion  on 
the  subject,  will  admit  that  such  periods  occur,  when  most  decided  advantage  would 
result  from  the  prisoner’s  liberation.  One  mode,  to  be  sure  a  most  imperfect  one,  to 
effect  this  object,  is  to  shorten  the  sentence,  as  much  as  a  proper  regard  to  the  interests 
of  society  would  justify,  in  all  cases  of  first  convictions  and  convictions  of  young 
offenders.  The  Inspectors  feel  the  force  of  these  views,  and  they  have  ventured  again 
to  invoke  Legislative  attention  to  the  subject.  This  is  not  the  occasion  to  suggest  any 
plan  to  modify  and  improve  the  present  laws  on  this  subject;  but  it  is  hoped  that  the 
time  will  come  when  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  will  take  the  important  subject 
of  the  present  penal  code,  as  it  relates  to  our  admirable  system  of  Penitentiary  punish¬ 
ment,  into  consideration.  Sporadic  reforms  are  worse  than  useless.  Labors  of  those 
who  are  required  to  learn  while  they  attempt  to  teach,  are  vain.  The  familiarity  of 
long  experience,  careful  and  earnest  devotion  to  the  subject,  and  an  interest  in  the 
questions  involved,  above  and  beyond  an  interest  in  self,  are  among  the  qualifications 
which  a  proper  reform  in  penal  jurisprudence  will  require  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
undertake  the  task. 

From  the  Report  for  i860  : 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Inspectors  have  heretofore  refrained  from  presenting 
reforms  in  the  penal  code,  in  relation  to  young  criminals.  It  was  hoped  and  believed, 


18 


134 


that  one  of  the  citizens  to  whom  the  codification  of  the  penal  laws  was  referred,  might 
have  been  selected  for  his  interest  in,  and  ability  to  understand,  the  subject.  If  such 
a  selection  had  been  made,  it  would  have  resulted  beneficially,  by  the  incorporation 
into  the  penal  law  of  a  provision  to  meet  the  class  of  cases  to  which  the  attention  of 
the  Legislature  has  been  called. 

The  Inspectors  do  not  feel  themselves  required,  either  by  law  or  from  their 
official  position,  to  do  more  than  make  such  “  observations  ”  as  they  deem  of  impor¬ 
tance  to  the  public,  or  prisoners. 

Lest,  however,  it  might  be  by  some  attributed  to  their  silence  that  they  have  no 
practical  suggestions  to  offer,  they  most  respectfully  submit,  as  the  substance  for 
amendments  to  the  present  law,  the  following  proposition : 

That  in  all  cases  for  first  conviction  for  crime,  of  minors,  the  term  of  imprison¬ 
ment  shall  be  terminated  by  the  Inspectors  with  the  consent  of  the  President  Judge 
of  the  Court  in  which  such  minor  was  sentenced,  when  in  their  opinion  the  punishment 
has  produced  its  expected  results. 

That  in  all  cases  of  first  conviction  for  crime,  of  persons  betweeen  21  and  25  years 
of  age,  the  term  of  imprisonment  shall  in  like  manner  be  lessened,  as  a  reward  for 
good  conduct,  by  the  reduction  of  three  days  out  of  every  thirty  after  the  first  12 
months  of  imprisonment. 

That  in  all  cases  of  first  conviction  for  crime,  of  minors,  the  jury  trying  the  case 
shall  find  by  their  verdict  if  the  father  of  the  minor  (he  being  alive  and  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  process  of  the  Commonwealth)  was  negligent  and  derelict  in  his 
parental  duties  towards  said  minor,  and  on  so  finding,  the  court  shall  cause  said  father 
to  be  held  to  pay  the  costs  to  the  Commonwealth  of  said  trial. 

The  Inspectors  have  ventured  respectfully  to  make  these  suggestions,  with  the 
view  to  remedy  the  evil  which  has  been  thus  authentically  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  General  Assembly. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  necessity  for  legislation  is  most  serious.  That 
it  is  increasing,  a  superficial  examination  of  the  facts  herein  set  out,  cannot  fail 
to  teach  the  observer.  That  the  want  of  parental  control  is  demoralizing  a  large 
and  increasing  number  of  our  youths.  The  consequences  are  manifest.  The 
minor  is  ungoverned,  wayward,  vagabond,  vicious,  contaminated,  contaminating, 
and  convict.  The  moralist,  as  well  as  the  Christian,  must  deplore  such  causes  and 
consequences. 

It  is  believed  that  the  most  unconcerned  for  the  welfare  of  society  and  its 
constituents  would  hardly  agree  that  Penitentiary  discipline  should  take  the  place  of 
primary  parental  teachings  and  supervisory  restraint. 

The  least  benevolent  will  fully  consent  to  the  principle,  as  one  of  justice, 
that  the  child  only  should  not  be  punished  for  its  parent’s  neglect  or  disregard  of 
his  duties. 

If  in  either  case  society  stands  in  the  place  of  the  parent,  magnanimity  and  mercy 
both  plead  that  the  most  reformatory  and  beneficent  influences  should  be  extended  to 
such  unfortunates. 

In  the  Report  for  1867,  the  Inspectors  use  the  following 
language : 

It  is  of  vital  importance  that  the  individualities  and  characteristics  and  sur¬ 
roundings  of  the  accused  should  be  ascertained  on  his  trial,  and  their  just  considera- 


1 35 


tion  should  be  taken  fully  into  the  judicial  determination  of  the  punishment.  Arbi¬ 
trary  or  merely  conventional  sentences,  operating  on  classes,  not  persons,  are  unphil- 
osophical,  and  often  unjust,  both  to  the  individual  and  the  community.  Again,  take 
the  crime  of  larceny.  It  should  be  divided  into  degrees.  The  highest,  and  each  in 
sequence  to  the  lowest,  should  be  determined  at  the  trial,  from  the  facts  and  circum¬ 
stances  and  the  characteristics  of  the  accused.  To  determine  beforehand,  when 
framing  the  indictment,  the  degree  of  criminality,  before  the  accused  can  explain  or 
defend  his  acts,  is  at  war  with  the  principle  which  seeks  to  protect  the  accused  till  he 
is  found  beyond  the  operation  of  the  presumptions  of  innocence.  This  system 
adopted  as  to  all  crimes  or  offences  has  the  advantage  of  placing  the  accused  in  the 
exact  position  in  which  his  acts  place  him,  not  that  which  the  definition  or  descrip¬ 
tion  of  a  class  of  acts  would  compel  him  to  occupy  without  the  explanatory  benefits 
he  alone  could  produce.  Again,  it  would  not  make  individuals  more  criminal  than 
they  really  are,  and  thus  often  unwisely  add  to  the  crime-class  those  who  would  else 
never  be  associated  with  it.  The  injurious  effects  of  any  system  which  augments 
the  number  of  convicts,  placing  on  them  the  distinguishing  mark  of  enemies  to  public 
safety,  becomes  more  and  more  apparent  as  population  increases.  The  true  principle 
of  legislation  on  this  branch  of  the  subject  is  to  make  few  acts  of  individuals  crimes, 
and  as  few  members  of  society  criminals,  as  a  due  regard  for  the  safety  of  life,  rights, 
and  property  will  justify.  The  more  simple  the  crime  code,  the  more  it  is  rendered 
flexible  in  individual  application;  the  less  rigorous  and  unbending;  the  greater 
opportunity  to  take  the  principles  of  the  common  law  as  preferable  to  those  of  a 
statute  and  the  greater  the  responsibilities  that  are  placed  on  the  Judiciary  and  taken 
from  the  law-making  power — in  all  these  respects  the  greater  and  more  substantial 
are  the  benefits  which  society  secures.  It  is  thus  that  society  speaks  its  voice,  under 
the  restraints  of  law,  in  each  particular  case. 

Following  this  view  as  to  the  code,  we  come  to  consider  the  punishment  of 
crimes.  By  the  present  practice  there  is  really  no  standard.  The  offence  too  often 
determines  the  sentence,  because  no  opportunity  is  permitted  to  investigate  all  the 
circumstances  of  each  case,  nor  is  any  authority  granted  for  that  judicial  discretion 
which  should  always  be  an  element  in  the  official  action  of  the  ministers  of  justice. 
The  maximum  and  the  minimum  of  the  term  of  punishment  are  the  only  judicial 
guides,  and  these  regulate  the  judgment  of  judges  who  from  the  trial  of  the  issue  of 
fact,  are  informed  by  the  verdict  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused.  Every  offender  is 
actuated  by  different  motives,  influenced  by  various  causes  of  crime ;  his  peculiar 
position  as  an  individual  in  society,  his  lack  of  advantages,  his  associations,  his  men¬ 
tal,  moral,  personal  disabilities,  all  his  individualities  are  hid  from  view,  because  the 
present  system  only  presents  one  fact  to  be  ascertained.  The  interests  of  society 
demand  that  crime  be  punished,  and  crime  prevented,  beyond  that  it  has  no  other 
interest,  so  far  as  a  particular  offence  is  concerned.  But  growing  out  of  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  that  fact,  are  vastly  important  considerations  to  the  very  best  interests  of 
society.  For  what  degree  of  crime,  for  what  period  of  time  the  guilty  is  to  be  sen¬ 
tenced,  the  motives  and  causes  that  induced  him  to  violate  law,  the  effect  upon  the 
individual  directly  and  on  society  indirectly,  are  consequences  which  must  result  to 
society  finally,  to  prejudice  it  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  if  the  guilty  has  been 
punished  without  regard  to  these  questions.  There  is  no  more  dangerous  element 
in  social  condition  than  the  feeling  which  harshness  and  injustice  produce  in  the 
administration  of  justice.  The  first  of  the  dangers  is  the  unwillingness  to  con- 


vict  for  crime,  or  the  anxiety  in  the  minds  of  juries  to  except  the  case  from  the 
operations  of  these  influences.  Vibrating  between  the  extremes  of  unwillingness 
to  convict,  and  the  prompt  conviction,  in  the  latter  case  to  maintain  the  law  by 
sporadic  firmness  in  the  administration  of  justice,  creates  a  disrespect  for  the  law. 
When  one  is  guilty  of  a  less  crime  Jthan  that  for  which  he  is  indicted,  but  escapes 
because  of  the  arbitrary  or  fixed  definition  of  acts,  as  crimes,  which  the  trial 
shows  the  accused  has  not  made  himself  technically  amenable  to,  there  is  left  on 
the  public  mind  a  feeling  of  insecurity  and  a  distrust  of  public  justice.  So  on 
either  hand  the  present  system  convicts  a  certain  portion  of  offenders,  and  society 
has  to  be  satisfied  that  all  the  guilty  do  not  escape.  If,  however,  the  system  of 
jurisprudence  was  in  harmony  with  the  views  expressed  as  to  the  code,  these  defects 
would  probably  be  remedied. 

By  the  judicious  sub-division  into  degrees,  and  the  consequent  reduction 
of  the  higher  grades  of  crime,  the  assimilation  of  the  offence  to  the  acts  .and 
motives  of  the  accused,  the  certainty  of,  as  well  as  a  wise  discrimination  in  the 
punishment,  the  diminution  of  the  number  of  individuals  united  with  the  crime 
class,  the  better  would  it  be  for  all  the  great  interests  associated  in,  and  protected  by 
penal  legislation. 

That  some  system  should  be  made  lawful  by  which  the  opinion 
of  the  Inspectors,  and  that  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  Penitentiary, 
as  to  the  propriety  of  discharging  prisoners  deserving  liberation,  would 
be  effective  in  producing  their  discharge  by  competent  authority,  is 
most  desirable.  The  Inspectors  respectfully  call  this  subject  to  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature.  It  may  not  meet  with  favor  until  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  question  is  made,  free  from  those  objec¬ 
tions  which  a  first  impression  is  most  likely  to  suggest. 

The  subjoined  Statistical  Statements  are  taken  from 
the  last  Report  (1871,)  of  the  Inspectors.  It  will  be 
observed  that  they  relate  to  special  subjects,  and  are 
selected  from  the  general  statistics  of  that  report,  because 
it  is  believed  they  will  prove  interesting  to  those  who  are 
investigating  the  questions  connected  with  penal,  as  an 
element  in  social  science. 


137 


STATEMENT 

Exhibiting  Number  Received — Prison  Population — Average  Number — Number  Dis¬ 
charged — Nutnber  Remaining  on  December  31,  and  the  Register  Number  of 
Prisoners  Received  each  year  into  the  Eastern  State  Penitentiary , from  its  opening 
October  25,  1829,  to  December  31,  1871. 


*  From  October  25, 1829,  to  November  30, 1831. 
f  From  November  30, 1832,  to  December  31, 1833. 


138 


ANALYTICAL  TABLE 


Exhibiting  the  Whole  Number  of  Pardons  granted  from  the  opening  of  the  Prison , 

October  25,  1829,  to  December  31,  1871. 


Years. 

Whole  Number  in  Confinement. 

Number  of  Pardons. 

How 

Pardoned. 

White. 

Colored. 

Total. 

White. 

Colored. 

Total. 

Annual  per 

Cent. 

By  the  Presi¬ 

dent  U.  S. 

By  the  Gover¬ 

nor  Pa. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

00 

0> 

*3 

S 

Females. 

1829 

8 

1 

•  . 

9 

1830 

42 

16 

•  • 

58 

1831 

75 

•  • 

*5 

4 

104 

1 

1 

.96 

1 

1832 

90 

•  • 

27 

4 

121 

4 

4 

3.30 

4 

1833 

128 

•  • 

42 

4 

*74 

2 

2 

i.*5 

2 

1834 

189 

.  . 

81 

2 

272 

8 

1 

9 

3-3* 

9 

1835 

262 

8 

*54 

11 

435 

II 

4 

*5 

3-45 

I 

*4 

1836 

278 

11 

*79 

*9 

487 

2 

I 

•  • 

3 

.62 

3 

1837 

320 

9 

*99 

18 

546 

4 

1 

5 

.91 

5 

1838 

33* 

11 

200 

22 

565 

10 

•  • 

10 

*•77 

10 

1839 

339 

11 

217 

*9 

596 

12 

.  . 

1 

*3 

2  18 

I 

12 

1840 

329 

9 

205 

30 

573 

20 

•  • 

•  * 

20 

3-49 

1 

*9 

1841 

291 

7 

*73 

3* 

502 

12 

1 

I 

*4 

2.79 

1 

*3 

1842 

297 

6 

*54 

20 

477 

20 

•  • 

2 

1 

*3 

4.82 

•  • 

23 

1843 

320 

7 

*45 

*5 

487 

15 

•  . 

•  • 

i5 

3.08 

•  • 

*5 

1844 

33* 

12 

136 

*7 

497 

39 

•  . 

4 

3 

46 

9.25 

•  • 

46 

1845 

33i 

16 

120 

16 

483 

29 

I 

2 

3* 

6.62 

1 

3* 

1846 

321 

*4 

no 

16 

461 

*5 

1 

•  • 

26 

5.64 

1 

*5 

1847 

297 

9 

* 1 3 

*3 

43* 

21 

•  . 

5 

26 

6.02 

1 

*5 

1848 

291 

8 

103 

*3 

4*5 

11 

I 

2 

*4 

3-37 

1 

*3 

1849 

305 

7 

98 

10 

420 

*9 

2 

3 

34 

8.09 

•  • 

34 

1850 

331 

8 

100 

10 

449 

28 

2 

1 

3i 

6.90 

•  • 

3* 

1851 

3*5 

16 

94 

11 

446 

29 

I 

3 

I 

34 

7.62 

•  • 

34 

1852 

3*7 

*9 

82 

8 

436 

40 

2 

2 

1 

45 

10.32 

1 

44 

1853 

320 

*7 

58 

5 

400 

20 

3 

1 

•  • 

*4 

6.00 

5 

*9 

1854 

3i5 

10 

61 

5 

39* 

22 

1 

•  . 

•  • 

*3 

5.88 

2 

21 

1855 

33* 

16 

62 

6 

416 

20 

2 

•  • 

•  . 

22 

5.29 

•  • 

22 

1856 

344 

20 

62 

5 

43* 

*4 

1 

•  • 

•  . 

*5 

3.48 

I 

*4 

1857 

4*7 

18 

79 

10 

534 

9 

3 

1 

*3 

2-43 

1 

12 

1858 

469 

*5 

88 

11 

583 

*9 

2 

1 

22 

3-77 

•  • 

22 

1859 

486 

*3 

70 

4 

583 

20 

2 

22 

3-77 

•  • 

22 

I860 

530 

*3 

9* 

3 

647 

*5 

•  . 

*5 

2.32 

•  • 

15 

1861 

533 

22 

87 

4 

646 

18 

.  . 

18 

*•79 

1 

*7 

1862 

477 

*3 

83 

3 

586 

16 

2 

18 

3.07 

1 

*7 

1863 

439 

30 

77 

6 

55* 

20 

4 

*4 

4-35 

•  • 

*4 

1864 

418 

*9 

53 

8 

508 

*9 

2 

2 

33 

6  50 

4 

*9 

1865 

504 

*7 

4* 

9 

582 

4* 

2 

1 

44 

7.56 

12 

3* 

1866 

679 

24 

68 

11 

782 

62 

•  . 

2 

64 

8.18 

9 

55 

1867 

74* 

*5 

95 

9 

860 

*9 

•  • 

*9 

2.21 

10 

9 

1868 

759 

12 

102 

6 

879 

36 

•  • 

36 

4.09 

*4 

22 

1869 

800 

*4 

122 

4 

940 

27 

•  • 

27 

2.87 

9 

18 

1870 

813 

*4 

124 

2 

953 

*3 

I 

*4 

1.46 

1 

*3 

1871 

779 

12 

**9 

1 

91* 

21 

•  • 

21 

2.30 

3 

18 

Totals 

8*3 

*5 

50 

8 

896 

4.24 

82 

814 

139 


STATEMENT. 

The  following  Table  will  exhibit  the  Discharge  and  Return  of  Pardoned  Prisoners. 

Also,  Time  Served  in  Prison. 


Prisoner’s 

When  Pardoned. 

Time  Served. 

When  Returned. 

No. 

1  Si 

May  .  .  . 

30,  1833 

3  months 

i9 

days 

May  .  .  . 

2,  1843 

24 3 

September . 

29,  1834 

5 

44 

8 

44 

November  . 

22.  1858 

39? 

July  .  .  . 

27,  1837 

2 

years 

2 

44 

8 

44 

February  . 

23,  1839 

928 

May  .  .  . 

20,  1839 

I 

44 

0 

44 

1 

44 

December  . 

5,  1851 

1 106 

January 

31,  1840 

8 

44 

6 

44 

February  . 

13,  1841 

1189 

May  .  .  . 

30,  “ 

6 

44 

7 

44 

June  .  .  . 

8,  1849 

1168 

July  .  .  . 

25,  “ 

8 

44 

29 

44 

December  . 

9.  1841 

ijii 

October .  . 

12,  “ 

I 

44 

19 

44 

August  *  . 

29,  1842 

746 

February  . 

4,  1841 

3 

44 

9 

44 

12 

44 

January 

24,  1843 

1400 

July  .  .  . 

23.  1842 

1 

44 

1 

44 

28 

44 

September 

22,  1845 

1494 

April  .  . 

28,  1843 

1 

44 

3 

44 

6 

44 

44 

12,  1843 

1569 

May  .  .  . 

25,  “ 

2 

44 

3 

44 

1 

44 

November  . 

27,  “ 

^46 

April  .  . 

17,  1844 

5 

44 

September 

6,  1844 

177  5 

May  .  .  . 

17,  “ 

4 

44 

29 

February  . 

19,  1845 

1516 

44 

17,  “ 

2 

44 

2 

44 

10 

44 

May  .  .  . 

8,  - 

164} 

January 

1,  1845 

1 

44 

7 

44 

I 

August  .  . 

2?,  “ 

1678 

4. 

6,  “ 

1 

44 

7 

44 

II 

April  .  . 

3,  1847 

1684 

44 

7,  “ 

1 

44 

7 

44 

7 

44 

May  .  .  . 

1,  1846 

1487 

44 

ii»  “ 

2 

4* 

11 

29 

July  .  .  . 

7,  1849 

1578 

March  .  . 

21,  “ 

2 

44 

6 

«4 

5 

44 

September 

10,  1845 

1942 

44 

20,  1846 

1 

44 

0 

44 

1? 

44 

March  .  . 

1,  1859 

1990 

April  .  . 

17,  “ 

7 

44 

19 

44 

September 

14,  1853 

1275 

November . 

27,  “ 

6 

44 

6 

44 

12 

44 

August  .  . 

26,  1847 

23  39 

March  .  . 

12,  1849 

10 

23 

September 

24,  1849 

1435 

July  .  .  . 

22,  “ 

7 

il 

9 

44 

4 

June  .  . 

22,  1 8  54 

2354 

August  .  . 

8,  “ 

1 

44 

2 

44 

11 

December  . 

3,  1852 

2414 

April  .  . 

3°,  1850 

1 

44 

4 

7 

February  . 

4,  1861 

2534 

November  . 

30,  “ 

I 

44 

0 

1 

August  .  . 

27,  1856 

1530 

April  .  . 

2,  1851 

8 

44 

11 

44 

27 

October .  . 

IS,  1855 

2541 

October  .  . 

22,  “ 

I 

44 

10 

44 

14 

June .  .  . 

12,  1852 

2634 

November  . 

21,  “ 

I 

44 

3 

44 

1? 

44 

April  .  . 

7,  “ 

2773 

January 

3,  18S2 

7 

44 

9 

January 

3,  1853 

2245 

44 

10,  “ 

4 

44 

4 

44 

14 

44 

October .  . 

8,  1864 

2748 

44 

17.  “ 

8 

44 

25 

44 

April  .  . 

9,  1 8  59 

2444 

44 

24,  “ 

2 

44 

9 

44 

12 

44 

June .  .  . 

26,  1852 

2882 

June  .  .  . 

17,  “ 

I 

44 

l6 

44 

December  . 

10,  1858 

2732 

July  .  .  . 

14,  “ 

1 

44 

4 

44 

4 

44 

44 

22,  18S2 

*  534 

August  .  . 

27,  “ 

10 

44 

4 

22 

October .  . 

18.  1854 

2684 

November  . 

9,  “ 

1 

44 

11 

44 

16 

44 

March  .  . 

16,  1853 

1911 

March  .  . 

3i,  185? 

8 

44 

3 

44 

19 

»4 

May  .  .  . 

7,  1858 

3020 

July  .  .  . 

S,  “ 

2 

44 

1 

44 

June  .  .  . 

2.  1866 

2878 

March  .  . 

M 

GC 

4* 

I 

44 

10 

44 

7 

April  .  . 

18,  1857 

2985 

December  . 

12,  “ 

I 

44 

10 

44 

3 

44 

September 

26,  “ 

3865 

November  . 

2, 1858 

2 

44 

15 

44 

August  .  . 

30,  1859 

3856 

June .  .  . 

n,  1859 

10 

44 

5 

44 

July  .  .  . 

21,  i860 

3776 

March  .  . 

24,  i860 

2 

44 

1 

44 

20 

44 

December  . 

1,  “ 

3859 

January 

16, 1861 

2 

44 

5 

44 

5 

44 

November  . 

15,  1861 

4559 

March  .  . 

8,  1862 

3 

44 

29 

29,  1862 

4974 

February  . 

16,  1865 

9 

44 

May  .  .  . 

2,  1867 

S083 

March  .  . 

l,  “ 

16 

June .  .  . 

24,  1 865 

*5134 

July  .  .  . 

11,  “ 

10 

44 

October 

23,  “ 

Soi  8 

March  .  . 

19,  1866 

I 

44 

6 

44 

5 

44 

January 

31,  1867 

5299 

September 

13,  “ 

9 

44 

1 

44 

September 

21,  1868 

5588 

January  . 

5,  1867 

3 

23 

April  .  . 

24,  “ 

5474 

(4 

15.  “ 

8 

44 

25 

February  . 

7,  1867 

5376 

March  .  . 

19,  1868 

2 

44 

I 

44 

12 

44 

November  . 

9,  1868 

*  This  prisoner  was  immediately  arrested  on  his  discharge  and  recommitted. 

Per  cent,  of  prisoners  pardoned  and  recommitted  6.25  in  a  period  of  42  years. 

Note. — In  the  above  statement,  the  “time  served”  is  calculated  from  the  date  of  reception  of  the 
prisoner  into  the  Penitentiary,  and  not  from  date  of  sentence. 


140 


EDUCATION  VS.  CRIME. 


Statement  exhibiting  the  Education  of  Convicts  received  each  year ,  convicted  of  Crimes  against 
Property  and  Critnes  against  Persons,  thus  presenting  in  a  tabular  view  the  changing 
Educational  as  well  as  Criminal  Relations  of  convicts  received  each  year  into  the  Eastern 
State  Penitentiary. 


Year. 

Convicted  of  Crimes  against  Property. 

Convicted  of  Crimes  against  Persons. 

Whole  Number  Received  each  Year. 

Illiterate. 

Read  Only. 

Read  and  Write. 

Total  Convicts 
Against  Property. 

Illiterate. 

Read  Only. 

Read  and  Write. 

Total  Convicts 

Against  Persons. 

o' 

Per  Cent. 

6 

fc 

Per  Cent. 

6 

fc 

Per  Cent. 

d 

Per  Cent. 

6 

& 

Per  Cent. 

d 

Per  Cent. 

d 

Per  Cent. 

d 

PerCent. 

1829 

.  . 

3 

33-33 

6 

66  67 

9 

100.00 

9 

1830 

9 

18.37 

9 

18.37 

21 

42.86 

39 

79.60 

.  , 

.  . 

4 

8.16 

6 

12.24 

10 

20.40 

49 

1831 

7 

14.00 

7 

14.00 

28 

56.00 

42 

84.00 

4 

8.00 

3 

6.00 

I 

2.00 

8 

16.00 

50 

l8}2 

6 

17.65 

9 

26.47 

13 

38  24 

28 

82.36 

•  . 

3 

8.82 

3 

8.82 

6 

17.64 

34 

1833 

17 

22  08 

>5 

19.48 

38 

49-35 

70 

90.91 

2 

2.60 

3 

3.89 

2 

2.60 

7 

9.09 

77 

1834 

17 

14.40 

22 

18.65 

66 

55-93 

105 

88.98 

4 

3-39 

4 

3-39 

5 

4.24 

13 

11.02 

118 

1835 

64 

29  49 

48 

22.12 

87 

40.09 

199 

91.70 

5 

2.30 

7 

3-2-3 

6 

2.77 

18 

8.30 

217 

1836 

35 

24.47 

31 

21.68 

6l 

42.66 

127 

.88.81 

7 

4.90 

5 

3-49 

4 

2.80 

l6 

11. 19 

143 

1837 

46 

28.57 

33 

20.50 

67 

41.61 

146 

90.68 

4 

2-49 

4 

2  49 

7 

4-34 

15 

9.32 

l6l 

1838 

54 

30.3  3 

34 

19.10 

69 

38.77 

157 

88.20 

11 

6.18 

4 

2.25 

6 

3-37 

21 

1 1.80 

178 

1839 

54 

30.17 

45 

25.14 

69 

38.55 

168 

93.86 

3 

1.67 

2 

1.12 

6 

3-35 

11 

6.14 

179 

1840 

39 

28.06 

24 

17.27 

58 

41  72 

121 

87.05 

6 

4.32 

3 

„  2.16 

9 

6-47 

18 

12.95 

139 

1841 

26 

20.63 

24 

19.05 

58 

46.03 

108 

85-71 

6 

4.76 

1 

.80 

II 

8.73 

18 

14.29 

126 

1842 

29 

20.42 

25 

17.61 

71 

50.00 

125 

88.03 

4 

2.82 

4 

2.82 

9 

6-33 

17 

1 1.97 

142 

1843 

3i 

19.87 

25 

16.03 

86 

55-13 

142 

91.03 

3 

1.92 

3 

1.92 

8 

5-13 

14 

8.97 

156 

1844 

3i 

22.47 

25 

18  11 

63 

45-65 

119 

86.23 

2 

1.45 

2 

i-45 

15 

10.87 

J9 

13-77 

138 

1845 

15 

10.49 

29 

20.28 

62 

43-35 

106 

74.12 

9 

6.30 

5 

3.50 

23 

16.08 

37 

25.88 

143 

1846 

14 

11.97 

13 

11. 11 

69 

58.98 

96 

82.05 

6 

5-13 

6 

5-13 

9 

7.69 

21 

17-95 

117 

1847 

23 

18.55 

11 

8.87 

58 

46.77 

92 

74-19 

6 

4.84 

3 

2.42 

23 

18.55 

32 

25.81 

124 

1848 

20 

16.53 

11 

9.09 

68 

56.20 

99 

81.82 

4 

3.30 

9 

7-44 

9 

744 

22 

18.18 

121 

1849 

19 

14.84 

14 

10.94 

61 

47.66 

94 

73-44 

7 

5-47 

9 

7.03 

18 

14.06 

34 

26.56 

128 

1850 

11 

7-33 

18 

12.00 

72 

48.00 

IOI 

67-3  3 

19 

12.67 

11 

7-33 

19 

12.67 

49 

32.67 

150 

1851 

*4 

9.52 

20 

1 3.61 

85 

57.82 

119 

80.95 

3 

2.04 

10 

6.80 

15 

10.21 

28 

19.05 

147 

1852 

13 

10.32 

13 

10.32 

69 

54.76 

95 

75-40 

5 

3-97 

8 

6-35 

18 

14.28 

31 

24.60 

126 

1853 

12 

10.26 

9 

7.69 

70 

59.83 

91 

77.78 

5 

4.27 

5 

427 

16 

13.68 

26 

22.22 

117 

1854 

14 

1 1.29 

15 

12.10 

72 

58.06 

IOI 

81.45 

3 

2.42 

6 

4.84 

14 

11.29 

23 

18.55 

124 

1855 

6 

4.11 

12 

8.22 

105 

71-91 

123 

84.24 

5 

3-43 

5 

3-43 

13 

8.90 

23 

15.76 

146 

1856 

16 

10.96 

10 

6.85 

96 

65-75 

122 

83  56 

4 

2.74 

5 

3-43 

15 

10.27 

24 

16.44 

146 

1857 

38 

16.03 

37 

15.61 

136 

57-39 

21 1 

89.03 

6 

2-53 

4 

1.69 

16 

6-75 

26 

10.97 

237 

1858 

29 

14.01 

25 

12.08 

122 

58.93 

176 

85.02 

7 

3-38 

2 

•97 

22 

18.63 

3i 

1498 

207 

1859 

25 

12.19 

29 

9.27 

123 

60.00 

167 

81.46 

8 

3.90 

13 

6.34 

17 

8.30 

33 

18.54 

205 

i860 

33 

12.74 

29 

11.20 

152 

58.68 

214 

82.62 

8 

3.09 

8 

3.09 

29 

11.20 

45 

17.38 

259 

1861 

28 

15.38 

24 

13.19 

94 

51.65 

146 

80.22 

6 

3.30 

2 

I.IO 

28 

15.38 

36 

19.78 

182 

1862 

18 

13-33 

22 

16  30 

64 

47-41 

I04 

77.04 

8 

5-93 

7 

5.18 

16 

u.85 

3i 

22.96 

135 

1863 

18 

9.83 

22 

12.02 

103 

56.30 

143 

78.15 

8 

4-37 

5 

2.73 

27 

1475 

40 

21.85 

183 

1864 

21 

14.00 

11 

7-33 

81 

54.00 

113 

75-33 

7 

4.67 

10 

6.67 

20 

1333 

37 

24.67 

150 

1865 

4> 

15-95 

26 

10.12 

l6l 

62.65 

228 

88,72 

8 

3. 11 

3 

1.17 

18 

7.00 

29 

11.28 

257 

1866 

42 

11.54 

35 

9.61 

246 

67.59 

323 

88.74 

10 

2.75 

3 

.82 

28 

7.69 

41 

11.26 

364 

1867 

48 

j6-49 

19 

6.53 

1 73 

59  45 

24O 

8247 

14 

4.81 

5 

1.72 

32 

11.00 

5i 

17-53 

29I 

1868 

33 

13.04 

23 

9.09 

162 

64.03 

218 

86.16 

8 

3.16 

3 

1.19 

24 

9-49 

35 

13.84 

253 

1869 

37 

11.98 

36 

11.65 

184 

59-54 

257 

83.17 

14 

4-53 

3 

•97 

35 

11.33 

52 

16.83 

309 

1870 

44 

«3-97 

20 

6.35 

181 

57-46 

245 

77.78 

18 

5-71 

IO 

3.18 

42 

13-33 

70 

22.22 

315 

1871 

40 

16.67 

8 

3-33 

137 

57.08 

185 

77,08 

14 

5.84 

2 

.83 

39 

16.25 

55 

22.92 

24O 

Totals 

1136 

16.02 

910 

12. S3 

3867 

54-53 

5913 

83.38 

282 

3-97 

214 

3.02 

683 

9.63 

"79 

16.62 

7092 

I4I 


MINOR  CONVICTS. 

Statement  showing  the  number  of  Convicts  received  each  year ,  also  the  Sex  and  Color 
of  A/itior  Convicts ,  ( those  under  21  years  of  age,)  with  the  number  convicted  for 
Crimes  against  Property  and  Crimes  against  Persons. 


Whole  Number  Received. 


Number  of  Minor  Convicts  Received. 


Years. 

White  Males. 

White  Females. 

Colored  Males. 

Colored  Females. 

1 

Total. 

White  Males. 

White  Females. 

Colored  Males. 

Colored  Females. 

Total. 

Annual 

Per  Cent. 

Against  Property. 

Against  Persons. 

Total. 

1819 

8 

1 

•  • 

9 

3 

I 

•  • 

4 

44-44 

4 

•  • 

4 

1830 

34 

15 

■  • 

49 

7 

1 

•  • 

8 

16.33 

8 

•  • 

8 

1831 

37 

9 

4 

50 

4 

2 

1 

7 

14  00 

6 

1 

7 

1832 

z8 

6 

•  • 

34 

2 

2 

4 

11.76 

3 

1 

4 

1833 

54 

13 

•  • 

77 

7 

8 

•  • 

25 

29.48 

15 

•  • 

i5 

1834 

77 

.  • 

4i 

• 

1 18 

8 

24 

♦  • 

22 

18.64 

20 

2 

22 

1835 

115 

8 

84 

IO 

217 

16 

3 

21 

6 

46 

21.19 

42 

4 

46 

1836 

81 

3 

Si 

8 

M3 

4 

9 

4 

27 

11.89 

16 

1 

27 

1837 

100 

1 

58 

2 

161 

10 

12 

I 

13 

14.28 

29 

4 

23 

1838 

109 

6 

55 

8 

278 

24 

2 

6 

3 

25 

14.04 

22 

3 

25 

1839 

96 

3 

65 

15 

179 

8 

20 

4 

32 

2787 

3° 

2 

32 

1840 

86 

2 

46 

5 

239 

11 

18 

1 

30 

21.58 

28 

2 

30 

1841 

8z 

I 

37 

6 

126 

8 

6 

3 

>7 

2  3-49 

16 

1 

27 

184Z 

99 

3 

40 

•  • 

142 

8 

I 

11 

•  . 

20 

14.08 

20 

•  • 

20 

1843 

111 

2 

38 

5 

156 

n 

•  • 

8 

1 

20 

I2,8z 

18 

2 

20 

1844 

99 

7 

27 

5 

138 

25 

2 

7 

2 

26 

18.84 

25 

1 

26 

1845 

109 

6 

22 

6 

*43 

10 

I 

9 

5 

25 

17.48 

18 

7 

25 

1846 

87 

3 

i3 

4 

217 

9 

2 

7 

3 

21 

27-95 

19 

2 

21 

1847 

85 

I 

33 

5 

1 24 

15 

•  • 

7 

4 

26 

20.97 

21 

5 

26 

1848 

86 

2 

30 

3 

IZI 

24 

•  • 

8 

2 

24 

19.83 

23 

1 

24 

1849 

IOI 

2 

23 

2 

128 

19 

2 

3 

I 

25 

19-53 

18 

7 

25 

1850 

III 

5 

29 

5 

250 

30 

I 

8 

3 

42 

28.00 

23 

29 

42 

1851 

no 

H 

19 

6 

247 

27 

4 

4 

3 

28 

19.05 

26 

2 

28 

i85z 

109 

4 

12 

1 

126 

21 

3 

3 

1 

28 

22.22 

17 

11 

28 

1853 

IOI 

5 

10 

I 

117 

16 

1 

3 

•  • 

20 

27.O9 

27 

3 

20 

1854 

99 

2 

20 

3 

124 

21 

1 

3 

2 

27 

21.77 

20 

7 

27 

1855 

115 

H 

29 

I 

146 

29 

2 

6 

1 

38 

26.03 

33 

5 

38 

1856 

1 18 

9 

17 

2 

146 

33 

1 

5 

2 

42 

28.08 

33 

8 

42 

l857 

191 

8 

3i 

7 

237 

45 

2 

4 

2 

53 

22.36 

50 

3 

53 

1858 

17Z 

3 

29 

3 

207 

35 

•  • 

11 

2 

48 

23.19 

44 

4 

48 

i859 

i7z 

16 

16 

I 

205 

38 

3 

,  # 

•  . 

42 

20.00 

39 

2 

42 

i860 

214 

5 

39 

1 

259 

47 

1 

9 

•  • 

57 

22.01 

5i 

6 

57 

1861 

145 

9 

27 

1 

182 

>9 

4 

11 

•  . 

34 

18.68 

29 

5 

34 

i86z 

106 

8 

20 

1 

235 

10 

3 

9 

•  . 

22 

16.29 

24 

8 

22 

1863 

142 

12 

26 

3 

183 

31 

2 

9 

1 

43 

23.49 

35 

8 

43 

1864 

129 

10 

8 

3 

250 

20 

5 

2 

3 

30 

20.00 

26 

4 

30 

1865 

230 

9 

15 

3 

257 

42 

2 

7 

3 

54 

21.01 

50 

4 

54 

1866 

312 

10 

37 

5 

364 

78 

5 

16 

2 

IOI 

27.74 

93 

8 

IOI 

1867 

247 

3 

40 

1 

291 

46 

1 

14 

1 

62 

21.31 

56 

6 

62 

1868 

215 

3 

35 

•  • 

253 

35 

1 

9 

•  • 

45 

27.78 

40 

5 

45 

1869 

260 

6 

42 

I 

309 

77 

2 

24 

•  • 

93 

30.10 

77 

16 

93 

1870 

271 

5 

39 

•  . 

3>5 

46 

3 

12 

•  • 

61 

19  37 

53 

8 

61 

1871 

209 

3 

27 

I 

240 

40 

•  • 

9 

•  • 

49 

20.42 

36 

13 

49 

Totals. 

5462 

208 

1284 

138 

7092 

979 

60 

348 

67 

|i454 

20.50 

1253 

201 

2454 

Convicted  of 
Crimes. 


19 


The  purpose  in  preparing  the  foregoing  pages,  it  is 
hoped,  has  been  sufficiently  developed  to  be  understood 
and  appreciated. 

In  this  brief  sketch  of  the  origin  and  history  of  the 
State  Penitentiary,  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  separate ,  or 
individual-treatment  system  of  penitentiary  discipline 
there  administered,  the  design  has  been  simply  to  por¬ 
tray  the  progress  made,  from  the  first  efforts  to  alleviate 

the  miseries  of  prisoners,  to  the  present  condition  of  the 

k.+  -  •'  '■  * f 

separate  system  as  now  in  operation  in  the  Penitentiary 
at  Philadelphia. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  starting  point  of  reform 
was  the  non-association  of  prisoners,  who  were  then  con¬ 
gregated  in  a  common  jail,  where  their  “  miseries,”  and 
the  fearful  effects  of  contamination,  induced  the  first 
efforts  for  non-association,  under  the  term  “  solitude,”  or 
“  solitary  imprisonment.”  From  that  period  the  develop¬ 
ment  progressed,  until  the  “  separate  ”  system  became 
the  more  exact  definition  of  the  principle  of  punishment. 
Now  it  has  reached  a  point  when  it  is  best  explained  as 
the  “individual-treatment  system,”  which  unites  the 
idea  of  separation,  and  non-association,  and  at  the 


143 


same  time  presents  the  best  method  of  punishment, 
during  which,  reform,  education,  improvement,  and  such 
other  means  of  personal  benefit  to  the  convict,  and 
the  greatest  advantage  to  society,  are  unitedly  and 
successfully  applied. 

Whatever  of  prejudice  against  our  plan  of  punish¬ 
ment  and  reform,  or  unbelief  in  its  theory  and  results 
may  heretofore  have  existed,  enough  has  been  presented 
in  these  pages,  at  least,  to  cause  a  candid  examination  of 
a  system  which  fearlessly  invites  intelligent  examination, 
and  frankly  exhibits  the  results  of  its  administration. 


THE  *  OF  THE 

JUN  6  1934 


'iOlS 


